Chapter 5

Falling through time is the oddest feeling. When I couldn't control it, it happened so fast that I barely felt anything at all beyond an upset stomach and an aching head. But now, able to will the box of time inside of me open and shut as I please, the process has slowed down and I feel every microsecond of it. It's still disorienting, though not as much as before. It's like reaching the highest point of a rollercoaster and then right when you're about to drop down, everything goes slow and you fall from a dizzying height at a measured but equally terrifying pace.

"How long was I gone?" I ask Daisy, panting. We've been at this for hours in the containment room at SHIELD headquarters.

"Check your watch," she nods toward the shiny silver watch she just gave to me.

"What do you mean?"

"Fitz made it for you. It's set to Flo time," Daisy says and I raise my eyebrows at her, awaiting further explanation.

When it doesn't come, I say, "I have no idea what that means."

Daisy smiles. "It means that it'll tell you exactly how much time you missed. Look, you press here." She reaches over and clicks on the small, high-tech screen of the watch.

12mins48secs flashes at me.

"That's how much time you missed. You left me waiting for twelve minutes. You're getting better at going short amounts of time, getting better at controlling it. We just have one more step to take."

"What's that?" I ask, still impressed by the little gadget on my wrist.

"You need to control where you time-jump to," Daisy says. I look at her sharply.

"You know I can't. I always jump to Brooklyn, no matter where I am in the world."

"You jump to Brooklyn because that's home. That's where you feel safe, it's like a default setting. But you can change that. Flo, think about it. If you can figure out how to control exactly when and where you jump to, then you'd be able to not only travel through time, but space as well. You could—"

"What? Jump into a bank vault and steal some money? How is that even useful?"

She gives me a deadpan look, decidedly unamused. "How is teleporting useful? God, I don't know, Flo. Maybe you could jump into a burning building and save people? That'd be useful!"

"How can I save them, when I can't take people with me?" I question.

"Ok, fine. But you would be useful in a fight. If you got quick enough at it, no opponent could go up against you because you'd be able to dodge every hit, jump around them and they'd never be able to catch you!"

I step back, shaking my head and pulling my sleeves over my hands. "I'm not a fighter."

"I wasn't either before I joined SHIElD," she says. "You could learn to be."

She reaches out and gives my hand a supportive squeeze. "C'mon, let's just try."

I hesitantly agree.

~O~

Having not heard from Bucky since I left Madripoor, I feel more cut off from him than ever. Alone in my big house, I pause by the fireplace to stare at the photo of Steve and I. The shrill tone of my phone ringing makes me flinch and I quickly snap it up.

Unknown number. That's weird. I answer it. "Hello?"

"Is this Florence Rogers?" A distinctly British voice says through the line.

I hesitate. "Uh…yes. Who is this?"

"My name is Karli Morgenthau."

I freeze, my breath hitching. "You were on the news…." It wasn't hard for me to guess who the Super soldiers were that Sam and Bucky told me they were after. The Flag Smashers have been making headlines daily for their actions. The latest; they bombed a GRC warehouse and killed three people. "You're part of the Flag Smashers."

"I am. And you're the great Captain America's sister. Can I ask you somethin'?"

I hesitate, clutching the phone with a tight, shaking grip. "Yes."

"What was it like, constantly living in your righteous brother's shadow?"

My jaw tightens, my lips pursing. I don't answer her; what answer is she really looking for?

"Can I ask you a question?" I say, an edge to my voice.

"Yeah, go for it."

"What's it like, murdering people?"

Silence.

"You think I'm a terrorist or somethin', don't you? That you're better than me?"

"I don't know," I admit. "I think you killed people. I think you're not evil. I think those two things sometimes conflict and sometimes don't. They don't always overlap."

She seems to mull this over for a moment. "I want to understand more about the men who are after my group. I know you're close with them - Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes. Can you tell me more? Can you meet me?"

Here's what I should do: try to get her location, forward it to Bucky and Sam immediately and let them deal with it. They're the heroes, they're the strong ones, they're the fighters. Not me.

But I have been running for so very long. Time to stand and fight.

"Tell me where and when."

~O~

"I can do this. I can totally do this." I stand in the small backyard of my house, shaking out my limbs. I've mostly gotten transporting through time - at least by small increments - down to a science. But transporting locations is very different. I usually end up in Brooklyn. This time, I'm aiming for Latvia's capital, Riga, where Karli told me to meet her. We set a meet time for an hour, so I have to try not to skip too far ahead or I'll miss it.

I close my eyes, try to relax and open my imaginary little box. The sensations of falling and fading out of existence rush through me and then I open my eyes and I'm no longer in my backyard. I'm in a small apartment and a family of three is staring at me with wide eyes. I glance down at the watch on my wrist. It reads 47mins03secs. I should have just enough time to get to the meeting place.

I push myself off the musty carpet and to my feet, feeling awkward. "Uh…sorry about that. I'm just…passing through."

Leaving them dumbfounded, I rush out of the apartment, down a set of stairs and burst into a busy street. Definitely not Brooklyn. Using an app on my phone - so much easier than a physical map, like I had to use years ago - I navigate to the location Karli gave me. Luckily, it isn't far.

It's an old, archaic church with high turrets and stone walls. I slip through the large wooden front doors, looking around the echoey space. No one else is here.

She told me to come alone, so I do, despite knowing that this whole thing is a bad idea. I figure, if the worst happens, I can always jump back to Brooklyn and at least I won't be in danger.

Small staircases lead this way and that in different directions, like an intricate maze of pathways.

I'm about to slip down a hallway when I hear a set of footsteps echo around the cavernous space and Karli appears. Ringlets of red hair frame her face, her mouth set in grim determination.

"You came alone," she says, hands shoved in the pockets of her jacket. "That was smart."

"You said you wanted to know more about Sam and Bucky." We meet in the middle of the room, facing each other. "But before I tell you, I want to know more about you."

She nods, taking slow steps and circling around me. "That's fair. What do you wanna know?"

"I read about you online, about your group. World unity, that's the aim, right? Do you really think killing people is the way to achieve that?" My voice shakes a little; I'm scared. But I've come this far. I can do this.

"Violence is the only language these people understand. It's the only way to peace."

I scoff, shaking my head. "I've heard that before."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. 1941, America joins the war. 'The only way to peace is through violence'. It's not a new concept."

She laughs incredulously, her eyes taking me in like I'm something new. "Captain America's sister is an anti-war advocate? Who would have thought?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh come on. Your brother was practically war's mascot when he was alive. I mean he was the face of World War II."

"You think my brother liked to fight? He didn't. He did it because he had to, because it was the right thing—"

"And that's what I'm doing. The right thing, for my people."

"Your people?" I ask. "What happened to 'one people'?"

This makes her stop, her jaw working as she chews the inside of her cheek. "You're tryin' to trip me up, make me say something I don't mean."

"If only I were that smart."

A harsh breath out her nose, a brief pause as she thinks. "People are trying to take my home, they're treating my people like garbage, displacin' us. Like we mean nothing. How can you say that an uprising is wrong? But what would you understand—"

"What would I understand? Really? You want to stand there and act as though I don't understand revolutions?" I'm getting upset now myself, my shoulders straightening, my anger making me unafraid and bold. "Civil rights protests in the 60s? I was there. Women's marches in the 70s? I was there. I watched the world change, I watched social structures rise and fall. One day I was told that the most I would ever amount to was a housewife and then suddenly I have the freedom to do and be whatever I want. And I'm expected to just forget, to move on, to act as though I wasn't raised in a society that constantly told me I was stupid, inferior to the boys my age, good for one thing; being a wife, the possession of a man. Don't act like you have a monopoly on anger. I'm angry. But I don't use my anger as a justification to kill people." My chest rises and falls rapidly, my heart pounding like a drum against my ribcage. I didn't even realise that I felt all that until now, didn't realise that the constraints I grew up with still bothered me to this day, so many years in the future.

"Do you think women achieved change by being peaceful? By being good little girls, who sat and did as they were told?"

"They didn't do it through cold blooded murder. My brother wasn't the symbol you think he was. He wasn't a symbol of oppression, of the Government's war. My brother was a symbol of hope, of standing up and fighting back. I think you're more alike than you realise, only he knew there was a line and he didn't cross it."

"Your brother and that shield are a monument to a bygone era. A reminder of all the people history just left out."

"You think I didn't feel left out? Forgotten? Everyone I loved was off fighting the war and I was alone. Abandoned. Left behind. Lots of people have felt that way, I'm sure you have. But it still doesn't justify what you've done. Nothing you've said has justified your actions. Nothing."

She leans back on a wooden table, crossing her legs at the ankles. "And the new Captain America? What about him?"

I shake my head. "He's not Steve. He's… I don't know. I think he stands for something different. Not something I believe in."

"So you're not with him, then? Good to know. Barnes and Wilson… they think the same as you?"

I shrug, crossing my arms. "Sam doesn't think you're a villain, I know that. But they know you need to be stopped before you hurt more people."

"Why'd they let you come and talk to me today alone?"

"I didn't tell them," I admit, although I realise maybe it was silly of me to do so.

"But they care about you, don't they? You're… special to them," she says it with a glint in her eye, one that makes me uneasy. I take a step back, away from her.

"Why'd you really ask me to come here today, Karli?"

~O~

In Zemo's safe house in Latvia, Bucky glares at the Baron with deep-seated contempt. If he is forced to keep working with Zemo, he's going to end up snapping and just killing the insufferably untrustworthy man.

"Sharon's calling, she might've gotten access to that satellite," Sam says, putting his phone down on the table, on speaker. "Hey, Sharon. What've you got?"

"I got Karli's location. She's in an old church not far from you. And Sam… I pulled all the traffic cameras in the area and I don't think Karli is alone in there."

Sam's eyebrows furrow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, Flo is with her."

Bucky and Sam's eyes clash together, holding the same look of absolute worry.

They dash out the door, Zemo scurrying behind them.

Reaching the coordinates that Sharon sent them, they are about to march up to the back entrance of the church when Walker and his sidekick slip in front of them, blocking the front doors.

"Karli Morgenthau is too dangerous for you guys to be pulling this shit," Walker says.

Bucky and Sam glare at faux Captain America. "We don't have time for this," Bucky growls out, frustrated and torn up with worry.

"Then make time, because—"

"Karli has Flo," Sam interrupts and Walker's eyes go wide.

"How the hell did you let that happen?"

Bucky curses under his breath and shoulders past Walker, slipping into the old church. They move through a boiler room, where Walker cuffs Zemo to a pipe. In that moment, Bucky doesn't give a shit about what happens to Zemo. He just wants to find Flo and make sure she's safe.

They move down a dark hallway, up a set of stairs and then back down another spiralling set.

"This place is a damn maze," Sam mutters. Finally, they reach a set of doors that seem to lead to the main part of the church but before Bucky can step through, Walker pushes past him and sweeps through the doors.

"Karli Morgenthau, you're under arrest," he calls out. Bucky, following close behind, sees Karli and then Flo, who looks slightly shaken but unhurt. They appear to be talking, but Karli's face twists when she sees Captain America.

"You lied, you said you came alone," Karli accuses and Flo starts to shake her head and reply but before she can, Karli lunges forward and grabs her, wrapping her arm around Flo's neck and holding her as a human shield.

Flo yelps, flailing and trying to pull away but she's no match to Karli's superhuman strength. Bucky's heart lurches in his chest, the icy tendrils of numbness that are the Winter Soldier creeping into his mind. He pushes it back, but it threatens to consume him. It'd be so much easier to feel nothing than the blinding fear he feels at the thought of losing Flo.

"Let her go!" He shouts at Karli, stepping forward. "Let her go!"

"One more step and I snap her neck," Karli threatens, her arm tightening around Flo's throat who's eyes go wide with fear, locking onto Bucky. She needs me, she needs me, he thinks, over and over. From the crevices of the church, up above and behind them, more members of the Flag Smashers appear out of the shadows.

"You didn't come alone either," Flo chokes out, scrabbling at the arm around her throat.

"I guess we're both liars then," Karli remarks, her chin pressed against Flo's ear.

"Let her go now," Walker booms, like he's got authority over everyone in the church, God included.

Bucky's hand aches to reach for the knife in his pocket. He could throw it, put it straight through Karli's eye. But in the time it'd take for him to pull it out, she could snap Flo's neck. It's not worth the risk.

Sam steps forward, hands out like he's trying to be reasonable. "Karli, listen to me—"

But then, Flo suddenly vanishes. There one moment, gone the next, leaving Karli clutching at thin air.

Walker throws the shield at her and the entire church breaks out into fights as the other Flag Smashers attack as well. Bucky blocks a powerful hit with his arm and quickly punches back, sending the Flag Smasher flying into the stone wall. He turns to fight another.

~O~

As it turns out, time and space jumping in tense situations - such as when there are threats of broken necks being made - is more difficult than I imagined.

I reappear at the top of the staircase leading away from the main area of the church, winded and head aching, and I am welcomed by absolute chaos. Bucky, Sam, John and Lemar are all fighting the Flag Smashers, throwing super-powered punches and bouncing shields off of heads.

A quick glance down at my watch tells me I only missed about four minutes. I race down the steps and am quickly confronted by a Flag Smasher. My eyes go wide as he throws a punch at me that I only just manage to duck beneath. My feet slipping on the floor, I scamper away from him and toward Bucky's general direction. Two of the Flag Smashers converge on Walker, overpowering him, but Sam quickly steps in and fights them off.

Karli runs toward the back of the church, disappearing through a door and in a split second decision, I veer away from my course toward Bucky and follow her instead. I want to explain, to tell her that I didn't know that the others were going to show up, that I honoured my word, even if she didn't.

When I burst through the door, she's no where in sight and I spend the next several minutes tracing through the many hallways and rooms of the large church.

"Shit." I'm lost. I try to retrace my steps and eventually find myself near the back of the church, in a boiler room. A pair of empty handcuffs sit locked to a pipe and on the floor are smashed vials of a bright blue liquid, seeping out onto the cement. Walker has somehow made his way back here, presumably whilst I was lost in the maze of hallways, and he slips something into his pocket. I don't see what it is.

"What were you thinking, huh? Meeting with her?" He demands, storming angrily over to me. "Do you have any idea how dangerous she is or what could've happened if I didn't show up?"

My mouth drops open. "Are you kidding me? You're the reason everything went to hell! She and I were talking, calmly, before you showed up!"

The door behind me swings open and I look over my shoulder to see Bucky, Sam and Lemar walk through.

Bucky gives me a look and I know I've got hell coming from him.

"I don't want to hear it," I say before he can even start.

"Well you're going to hear it." He's mad. "You put yourself in danger. She could've killed you, Flo!"

"But she didn't! And it wasn't because of you or you," I turn to glare at John. "It was because of me! I got myself out of that situation!"

"What if you hadn't been able to? Or what if it had've taken you to a hundred years in the future? These powers are unstable!"

"They're a part of me and you need to accept that!"

"Ok, we don't have time for this. Zemo's gone and we need to go after Karli and the others," John says and he and Lemar head toward the exit, slipping out the back door. I turn to follow but Bucky catches my wrist, stopping me.

"No, no way. You're done, you're going home," he states in that steely tone of his, like there's no room for argument.

"I am so sick of you treating me like a child. Me coming to speak to Karli had nothing to do with you. She rang me and asked to meet and I agreed because it was the right thing to do, because if there was even a one percent chance that I could talk her down, I had to take it. It's what—"

"What Steve would've done," Bucky begrudgingly finishes. His mouth hardens. "But you're not Steve."

"Bucky," Sam warns quietly, eyeing me.

I step closer to Bucky. "I'm not going to keep having this argument with you. I mean it, this is the last time. I am not a child anymore. I know that's hard for you to accept, but you've had time to come to terms with it. I did the right thing because that's what you and Steve taught me to do for as long as I can remember. You shaped who I am, Buck. Are you really going to stand there and be angry at me for becoming the person you encouraged me to be?"

His chest expands, his blue eyes chaotic and beautiful. I stare at him, willing him to understand.

He swallows, throat moving with emotion. "I promised Steve I'd protect you." His voice comes out broken, low.

"I know and I'm not asking you to break that promise. I'm asking you to trust me, trust that I can look out for myself. I'm not powerless."

"I never thought you were," he immediately says. I take his metal hand in mine, holding it gently.

"I love you and that's not going to change. But you can't keep punishing me for being who I am."

He nods, head dipping low and steps closer to press a kiss to my temple. "There's a safe house, not far from here. Go and we'll meet you there."

It's a compromise. I don't have to go back to America, but I don't get to stay with them either.

"You're going after Karli, aren't you?" I look over at Sam. He nods.

"We have to stop her," he says begrudgingly.

"She's hurting, she's not a bad person. She's just…lost," I say.

Bucky's face tightens. "She threatened to kill you, Flo. She needs to be stopped."

"I think she's more scared than she's letting on. Just… Don't make her into some villain when she's not one. That's all I'm saying."

Sam seems to understand this, squeezing my shoulder as he moves to the back door.

"I'll text you the address of the safe house," Bucky says. "If Zemo goes back there, call me straight away."

I nod in agreement and wrap my arms around him, burying my face in his neck and breathing him in. He holds me tight, strong and secure. Now that the adrenaline has worn off, it's nice to feel safe, even just for a moment. Having Karli threaten to kill me was more terrifying than I'll ever tell Bucky.

I twist my head and kiss his jaw, my soft lips brushing over his stubble and his hand tightens on me, fisting the back of my jacket. I pull away, letting him go. He takes a beat, broad shoulders tensed and ready for a fight, then heads over to Sam.

"Be careful," I tell them before they leave. Watching Bucky walk out that door and not knowing if he'll come back is terrifying. It makes me understand why he's so protective. We've both lost so much over our long lives. Over the past ninety years, we've lost absolutely everything.

Except each other.

~O~

A/N: The first scene of 1x04 with Bucky in Wakanda was SO heartbreaking and Sebastian Stan was amazing in it.

I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It was a very Flo-centric chapter, but I feel like this development was needed for her.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy and would really appreciate any of your thoughts / feelings in a review! Even if you just want to scream about Bucky and about the show, I love those reviews too haha.

Lots of love xx