Chapter 3

[Emily's POV]

I smiled widely at the man who sat before me. He wore a well-pressed dark suit, with a black masquerade mask to match. I stood up, brushing down my white and black feathered and sequined dress, and yawned.

"Don't fall asleep on me yet, Em," teased the man and I gave him a look.

"I'm not," I answered, yawning again. "It's not my fault we were placed on a stake-out at a masquerade ball where we aren't allowed to do…" All of a sudden, chatter started popping up on the radio clipped to my partner's belt. We both dove for it and he pressed the button. We listened in.

"If you get this, then Sanchez is on the move," the voice whispered urgently. "Sanchez is on the move." I sighed with relief and began to unzip the back of my dress, revealing my hidden Avengers suit underneath. My partner took off his fancy outwear for a suit that matched mine.

"Thank goodness," I groaned. "If I had to watch someone walk by with another plate of Snickers and Doritos, I would've flipped." I glanced at my partner and whispered, "Thanks for taking me here, Mr. Winter Soldier." My partner laughed, rolled his eyes, and responded smoothly, "It was a pleasure, Ms. Solace."

:/:\:

I woke up with a start, instantly struggling. I had to save Bucky…where was Bucky…in fact, where was I? Someone had two strong hands on my shoulders and I blinked through the spots in my eyes, trying to see who the man was holding me down.

"Deep breaths," a man ordered, and I followed, inhaling pure oxygen. I spluttered with coughs for a little, my hand coming up to politely cough into it. I jerked a bit when the man placed a hand on my shoulder and back to help lay me back down. As my vision began to clear up, I saw a clean-shaven face with blond hair all nicely combed. Warm brown eyes with a smile that would've made girls fan-girl desperately. "Are you ok?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but my wrist and back twitched with pain. My eyes flung open wide as I realized my back didn't hurt…it was my wings. I sat up fast (probably too fast) and yanked the oxygen cord off my face and ignored the pleas from the doctor girl and the man as they tried to rest me back down. My eyes skimmed briefly over the casted-figure of my wrist and I reached back, patting on my invisible wings. Both hurt desperately, and I cringed as I heard an unsatisfying crunch of my two shoulder bones. The doctor grabbed a tablet and waved it behind my back and frowned.

"Congratulations," she sneered angrily. "You had two fractures in your shoulder bones, now clean cuts!" She glanced at the man with rage and yelled, "I swear Steve, if it wasn't for the favor I owe you, I would've chucked her out of the tower hours ago." I winced at her comment (and the fact I had just broken more bones) and glanced at the man. Some old memory was starting to come back to me. "And, on top of everything, she's suffering from amnesia due to the crash!"

Crash, I thought weakly. I was in a car accident…a small car?…no, it was a semi. Bucky…where was Bucky? I thought that was strange. I couldn't remember my name, any of my history, but his name stuck out perfectly in my head. I glanced at the man and gently rested myself down just for him. He gave me a thankful smile and said, "So, Ms. Salgado…"

"Can you give me my full name?" I asked. He raised an eyebrow, but nodded.

"Emily Miriyan Salgado," he tried again. "Do you remember anything that happened to you in the previous twenty-four hours?"

"Bucky," I whispered, glancing around fearfully. "Where's Bucky? I…I don't know what I did, but I'm really worried about him." The two people exchanged confused looks and I said, "He was with me at the crash scene. I…"

The man with blond hair laughed and said, "He's doing fine, Emily. He's actually waiting to see you, but we needed Doctor Cho to confirm that you are steady enough to have visitors." The doctor waved her hand dismissively and left the room. I scanned my surroundings to get a better grip. I was on a table with a dentist looking office around me. This one wasn't like the kiddy kinds. It was like a surgeon doubling as a dentist. I was dressed in a red blouse with my ripped skinny jeans and those boots I stole from my mother. I pushed myself up on my elbows just a familiar man entered the room. Bucky. He rushed to my side and placed a gentle hand on my forehead. It was extremely cold to the touch.

"Are you alright?" he asked, as the other man said, "Buck…she's suffering from amnesia. She might not remember who you are…"

"Bucky," I breathed. I sat up farther and winced as my shoulder bones rubbed. "Are you alright?" The man started laughing and pushed his dark brown hair out of his face.

"Am I alright? Emily…you got hit by a semi-truck for me. In reality, you should be dead!" he laughed.

"I'm a superhero," I teased. Inside, I silently prayed a thank you to Sabretooth, an X-Men mutant who had the ability to heal. During an attack on the X-Mansion, I had seen him do it and gained his power.

Bucky offered me his gloved hands and I gently took them. He helped me off of the table and I breathed a thank you. I turned to the man who had helped me. "Thank you…I never got your name."

"My name is Steve," he said, nodding. Inside, the wheels in my mind began turning. I smiled and nodded my thanks.

"Do any of you know where my phone is?" I asked. "I'd like to call one of my friends and tell her what happened." Steve nodded and handed over my smashed IPhone. I sighed and Steve offered me his phone, which I took. The two men exited the room to give me space.

I sat on top of the table again and dialed Lizzy's number (I'm surprised I remembered that much).

Her phone rang twice before it answered, "I swear, Marco, if you're calling about that stupid science project again…"

"It's me, Lizzy," I teased, and she paused before laughing.

"Whose phone are you using?"

"That doesn't matter," I sighed, shaking my head. "Lizzy…something bad happened on the way to New York."

"Oh my gosh, what happened? Are you ok?"

"I sort-of got hit…"

"What?"

"…by a semi…"

"WHAT? Are you alright?"

"I think I sprained my wrist, broke both my shoulders…" I bit down on my lip and I silently cried, "I broke my wing shoulders…"

"Oh my gosh Em!" sighed Lizzy. "How did it happen?"

"I was on my way from this coffee shop with this guy…"

"Name."

"Bucky."

"Oh," she cooed. "That sounds kind-of cute." I rolled my eyes and continued my tale.

"We crossed this street and my shivers were sky-rocketing. I looked over and saw Bucky about to get hit by the semi. Me, being my idiotic self, pushed him out of the way and I got hit..."

"Have you had doctors look at you?" asked Lizzy frantically.

"Yes, of course!" I told her, rolling my eyes. "I'm not exactly sure where I am…but it's in New York…maybe a hospital or something."

"You could say or something," replied a voice. I glanced over and saw a tall, dark browned haired man, dressed all up in a black and dark blue business suit. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No," I sighed, shaking my head. To Lizzy, I added, "I'll get a new phone and try and call you tonight." With that, I hung up on Steve's phone. "Now, may I ask who you are?"

"Billionaire playboy, owner of this tower," said the man, shrugging. "Just the normal stuff. And you, Emily Miriyan Salgado, are currently under my protection since you are here." He stuck out a hand. "Tony Stark." I stifled a gasp. Tony Stark, as in Iron Man Tony Stark? I kept my cool and shook his hand and said, "You apparently already know my name." Tony cracked a grin and said, "Are the doctors all finished up with you?"

"I know that my presence even being here already ticked one of them off."

"That would be the lovely Ms. Cho," said Tony, shaking his head. "She wanted to use the Cradle on you, except whenever we carried you to it, you started convulsing, so we thought it would be safer to operate here." I nodded my head in agreement. That would be because of my wings, I thought mentally. "So, I take it you know Steve and Boy Wonder?" I tilted my head confused. "Come on, evil Russian assassin?" I chuckled a little. "I'm talking about Bucky." A silent Oh formed on my lips and I nodded a little.

"I met Steve here and Bucky at a coffee shop here," I explained. I gently heaved myself off the table and landed a little awkwardly on my feet. I stumbled a little bit (Tony offered no support) before I was able to balance myself. "Where am I?"

"Home," suggested Tony.

"This isn't my home," I said. "This is much too…"

"Strict?"

"Loose," I corrected. "For my home. What exactly is 'home'?" Tony placed a hand on my lower back and led me out of the room. I just stood in awe as we descended a few steps and gazed out of a glass window at the floor below, where Avengers were strolling around.

"Home is the Avengers Tower."