Chapter 4
[Emily's POV]
"Wait…" I said, pausing Tony from his grand old speech. "How on Earth did I come here?"
"Bucky called me," said another voice. I turned around and saw the friendly face of Steve. "It's good to see you again."
"We just talked to each other five minutes ago," I said, confused.
"Think farther back," he prompted. I thought farther back, but somehow Sharris stuck in my mind.
"No way," I gasped. "You were at Sharris!"
"So was Nat and Sam," said Steve, nodding to the redhead and African American who were playing pool. "Some people also know us as…"
"Captain America, Black Widow, and Falcon," I said, nodding. "Trust me. I know my Avengers…which may sound stalker-ish." Steve laughed and surprisingly, so did Tony. "Is Bucky…" Steve shook his head.
"Bucky is a part of our newer program, Avengers: Initiate," said Steve. He nodded to me. "And I suppose that you were coming to join." I nodded shyly. "Any past experience?"
I nodded and said, "For a while, I was a part of another team, you could say…" I shuffled my feet a bit. Talking about my past experiences always troubled me.
Steve nodded and asked, "Any powers?" I bit my lip and nodded, shuffling my feet a bit. "Care to demonstrate?"
"Could you shut the blinds or something?" I asked nervously. "I don't show many people my powers…it makes me…uncomfortable." Steve nodded rapidly and Tony asked some person named Jarvis to shut the curtains. As soon as I was certain no other member of the Avengers could see me, I released the hold on my wings.
Their bright golden and hazelnut brown feathers emerged, flapping excitingly because they didn't have to hide anymore. The facial expressions on Tony and Steve were priceless. Steve was wide eyed and mouth agape, while Tony kept murmuring something about robots.
"This is my…main power."
"You have wings," said Steve, stuttering a bit. "Ok, did not expect that."
"That's why the Cradle didn't accept me," I explained, glancing over at Tony. "I literally couldn't fit."
"I'll make a note of this," said Tony, heading over to his computer.
"No!" I shouted, and his hand suddenly stopped. Crud! I mentally cursed. Jean's powers! I gently brought his body around and he demanded, "Why can't I feel my arms and legs?"
"It's a part of my other powers," I explained cautiously. "I have the ability to adapt."
"What does telekinesis have to do with adapting?" asked Steve, raising an eyebrow.
"I originally never had telekinesis," I answered, and I let Tony go. "My second main power. If I see any mutant or superhero do a power, then I'll gain it. Forever."
"Really?" questioned Tony. I nodded in confirmation. "But going back a little...why won't you let me make a note of your wings."
"No one must know that I have wings," I said, my voice low and serious. "Final." Tony nodded and as the blinds went up, my wings disappeared again.
"Did the whole disappearing act with your wings involve another power you adapted?" asked Steve, genuine interest in his eyes.
"No," I explained, laughing a little. "The invisibility for my wings came with them." Steve nodded and I followed him out of the door and down to where the rest of the team was.
Natasha and Sam welcomed me over with open arms and invited Steve and I to join them in pool. I was on a team with Steve while Sam and Natasha were against us. It turns out, Steve is actually a decent pool player, but I stunk. I had the last shot, and if I could get the eight ball in, we would win. If not, Sam and Natasha were sure of getting it to win. Just as I hit the ball, I knew it wasn't going to go in. My telekinesis activated and I bounced the ball around the table before sinking it in, all the while making sure it looked as normal as possible. Sam grumbled and pretended to hit his head on the table while Natasha scolded him for being a bad player. Steve caught my eye and raised an eyebrow. I brought my finger to my lips in a 'shush' manner, and he smiled, chuckling a bit to himself.
As I handed the pole to Natasha, my shoulders clicked and pain flared throughout my back. My knees felt weak and I stumbled onto them, clutching to the pool table as support.
"Emily?" asked Steve, rushing to my side. I groaned slightly as he felt around on my back. "Your shoulders are out of place. You might hate me, but I have to put them back in order to make the pain stop." I nodded as Sam and Natasha walked over. Steve popped my shoulders and I let out a short scream. Tears began to pool out of my eyes as the pain in my shoulders dulled into an unsatisfied ache. Steve swept me up into his arms and we headed back towards the hospital-like room. Once inside, he gently set me down on the table, and I flipped around, so my wings were not compressed. I released my hold and my dirty brown wings appeared. I groaned and shoved my face into the warm pillow that had appeared randomly on my bed. "Emily…would you like some pain medicine?"
I nodded and whispered, "I'm allergic to ibuprofen." Steve nodded and walked out of the room, muttering something to himself. I sighed and rubbed my face farther into the pillow.
A gentle hand rested on the back of my head and Steve whispered, "I'm back." I sat up weakly and he held out four pills to me. "Advil and Tylenol." I grasped the water cup he held, threw the pills in my mouth, and gulped them all down. I felt a tingly sensation run down my throat, and I shivered slightly.
"Thank you," I told him, wiping away any late tears that decided to join up with their buddies from earlier. "I never knew I could be in so much pain."
"Well, that's one of the causalities of being an Avenger," joked Steve, running his fingers through his hair. A more serious look passed over his eyes. "However, due to your…predicament, you won't be able to do the same training as the other trainees." Steve whipped out a notepad and a pen from one of the counters and quickly scribbled something on it. "I know two trainers…well, two trainees, who'd be willing to help you in your rehabilitation."
"Would they need to know about my wings?" I questioned Steve. He took an uneasy step backwards and shook his head.
"It's not absolutely necessary, but coming from me, I would highly recommend it, since that's where most of the damage is," he responded. "If it's alright with you, Dr. Cho, when she wasn't upset with you, crafted these shoulder braces, specifically designed for your wings. Seems she knew about them before we all did." He hoisted up two black brace-looking things, each with clips and Velcro. He gestured to me and I twisted around painfully. He started to attach each one, and I winced, groaned, moaned, and even shed a few tears as he tightened them. When he was done, the medicine had started to kick in and now it was back to a dull ache.
However, my wings were stuck in an awkward position, which meant my shoulders were in an awkward position, which made me in an awkward position. "There. All good?" I nodded shakily and pushed myself off of the table. Steve held up his hands in front of me, blocking any attempts of leaving the room. "Just where do you think you're going?"
"I thought I would go say hello. Is that so bad?" I questioned/lied. Truth was I wanted to find another payphone and talk with Lizzy. Privately. Steve shook his head.
"Your wings are far too delicate at the moment for any sudden movements," Steve informed me. He handed me the notepad with the slip he had scribbled up. He then nodded at me, patted the spot next to me, before walking out of the room without looking back. I raised an eyebrow and glanced at the spot where he had patted. There was a phone. On it was a sticky note that read:
'It records all conversations. Thought you wanted it to call Lizzy. Have fun
Steve '
I smiled to myself and quickly dialed Lizzy's number.
:/:\:
After I finished my call with Lizzy, there was a gentle knock on my door.
"Come in."
In entered Bucky. His dark brown hair was wet from water, and he wore a muscle shirt with a pair of sweatpants.
"Hey," I said, a small smile coming to my lips.
"Hey," he responded back. "Good chat?" I nodded. Lizzy and I had discussed everything that had happened, and she thought it was for the best that I stayed where I was. They obviously had better equipment. "Ok, so Steve sent me here to take you to your new room. That cool?" I nodded and he held his hand out to me. I grabbed it and he helped me off my bed. My shoulders ached a little bit more than usually, but I simply rolled them and followed Bucky out. He let go of my hand once we walked through Tony's science lab, where the billionaire and someone else were tinkering with a gizmo.
"Hey Russian soldier," called out Tony, without even glancing up from his project. Bucky halted and I could see him tense up. "You don't want to introduce the doctor to your friend?" Bucky took a deep breath, shook out his arms, and gestured towards the other man by Tony, the one with frizzy brown hair and glasses.
"Emily, that's Doctor Banner. He's one of the world's leading scientists in gamma radiation," Bucky announced. "Banner, this is Emily, one of the new trainees." Banner nodded a hello without looking up either and we exited the room, heading down a hallway towards an elevator.
"From what I can tell, you and Tony don't get along well?" I asked tentatively. Bucky nodded.
"He's always trying to remind me of my past, which doesn't help me work ahead towards the future," Bucky explained. I nodded and rubbed my wrists, which was a nervous habit of mine. Bucky pressed a button and the next second, it dinged, revealing two figures. Both were females and had dark hair. One had a black, Gothic type dress on with high black boots and a scarlet jacket. The other wore a professional dress and had her dark hair in a bun.
"Emily, this is Maria Hill, former vice-CEO of SHIELD with Nick Fury and now Tony's secretary, and this is Wanda Maximoff, one of our newest Avengers." Maria nodded a hello to me, but Wanda caught my gaze and we stood there, gazing/glaring at each other.
I know who you are, small one,a voice whispered inside my head. A shiver ran down my spine. Don't try to block it.I used all my mental training I had learned from Professor X and built up the strongest defense system around my brain. I saw a small droplet of sweat fall from Wanda's brow before she broke our staring contest and the mental connection instantly vanished. Shakily, I entered the elevator with a confused Bucky in tow.
"Um…mind telling me what that was about?" he asked me, glancing over to where I was standing. I shook my head. Sometime Bucky…but not now. Bucky clicked one of the buttons and we started heading up or down…I was too dizzy to figure out. Whatever Wanda did, she left me totally vulnerable. Bucky could probably breathe on me and I would fall over. "They used to play music in these, you know?" I glanced at him, my eyes wide with skepticism.
"Excuse me?" I breathed, gripping onto the railing tightly. My wings were starting to get a little bit more painful, and the fresh soapy smell of the elevator was causing me to feel faint.
"Music," explained Bucky. "Like some sort of tune that would get stuck in your head for the rest of the week. Made elevator trips less boring." I nodded and I tried taking a deep breath.
Worse decision ever.
The smells just rushed to my head and I felt my hands let go of the railing before I fell onto the elevator floor, too dizzy and frail to move. I think the elevator doors opened, and I heard a far-off voice calling for help while a closer one whispered, "Stay with me." Just as I blacked out, I caught a glimpse of someone in the corner of the hallway, all the way in the shadows. He had styled black hair and piercing green eyes.
Daddy…I thought blankly before I passed out.
:/:\:
[Steve's POV]
"So, Doctor, mind telling me why she fainted?" I asked as I signed something for Maria.
"That remains unclear," Doctor Cho informed me. She brushed down her white uniform and began to story. "According to Sergeant Barnes, he and Emily were heading down to her room. Something in the elevator triggered an allergic reaction, we believe, and then she fell down. Afterwards, she fainted. That's all we know." I nodded, and Bucky walked into Stark's lab, where we were currently. I raised an eyebrow. Bucky hated coming in here. When he did, it was usually important. I waved Doctor Cho and her assistants away and headed over to where Bucky stood anxiously at the doorway.
"Hey pal," I said, coming over and leaning against the doorframe. "What's wrong?"
"I'm worried about Emily," Bucky confessed. He glanced around nervously and then faced me. "She isn't like anyone I've met before." I nodded. Bucky had met a lot of people back when he was the Winter Soldier, a dangerous KGB assassin for Russia. He ran his metal hand through his hair. "Do you think she'll be ok?" I nodded and patted him on the shoulder.
"That girl has been through heck and back," I told him. Bucky raised an eyebrow and I motioned for him to follow me. We walked deeper into Stark's lab and I yelled out, "Tony!" There was a loud CLUMP and the billionaire's head poked through behind the mess on a table.
"You called?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. His eyes scanned over me, and then finally rested on Bucky. "Ahhh…so Mr. Soldier decided to join you today."
"I need the folder on Emily's background," I reported, and Tony grumbled something about being a maid before one of his robots grabbed the folder and handed it off to me. I grabbed it thankfully and held out the folder towards Bucky.
"What's this?" he asked, grabbing it.
"Homework," I answered. "See you in a few." And with that, I walked out of the lab to go check-in with Emily.
:/:\:
[Emily's POV]
"Let me go!" I shrieked, wiggling around. More arms clamped onto my legs and arms, trying to pin me to the table. Doctor Cho growled a curse word and sat on top of my abdomen, holding out a needle. "Get off of me!" I tried wiggling as hard as I could, but as I shifted, my wings flared up with pain and I cried. I was too dizzy and numb with pain to use my telekinesis, and even if I did, they would never let me go out of the hospital again. A door opened and I cried as more footsteps approached me.
"What the heck is happening here!" a voice demanded and everyone froze, except me. I raised my leg and slammed it into the nose of one of the medical staff. He stumbled backwards, cursing me and fell into another guard. For the other guy, I did the same, except I aimed lower and got him in the neck. Doctor Cho suddenly popped back into reality, but it was too late. I brought my legs up, wrapped them around her torso, and flung her backwards and off the table. I ripped my arm out of one of the guard's hands, and Steve walked over, punching the other guy in the stomach. As soon as I was free from my captors, I leapt off the table and coward behind Steve. "What the heck is going on?"
"We are trying to run tests on that…vermin!" yelled Doctor Cho, helping one of her people to his feet. "When all of a sudden, she started flipping out and started resisting."
"You are a liar!" I screamed, my fists close to my chest.
"Enough!" yelled Steve, and we all quieted down. "Doctor Cho, I will personally be having a chat with you and your assistants later. Right now, Emily is going to be accompanying me to her room."
"She's just going to faint like…!" yelled Cho, but Steve grabbed my arm and was leading me out of the hospital before she could finish. I rubbed my wrists as we walked.
"I'm sorry," I whispered after a long moment of silence. "I didn't mean to react like that…but she was scaring me, and then she got more people…" I shivered. "I had a panic attack from PTSD." Steve nodded, and brought me close in a side hug.
"We all have our own demons we face," he said, and we reached the elevator. He pressed a button, and instead of going down, we started going up.
"I thought that the dorms were in the lower levels…" I began, but Steve held up a finger to his lips.
"We're not going to those dorms," he explained. The doors opened to reveal a long hallway. We walked down until we reached the third door on the left. Steve leaned forward, twisted the knob, and pushed the door open. I gasped when I saw the interior. We were in an amazing look suite, with fancy beds and a kitchen and…it was too amazing to describe. There was humming going on, and someone emerged from the bathroom with fresh clothes and wet hair.
It was Wanda Maximoff.
"Steve," she said in a crisp Sokovian accent. Her eyes landed on mine. "Emily."
"Wanda," Steve answered back. He placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. "For some odd reason, Emily is unable to reach her dorms downstairs. So, until we can discover a reason and combat it, I am requesting that she stays with you." WHAT?! "It won't be that long. Only until Doctor Cho and her team can figure out what's wrong." Wanda nodded, and motioned for Steve to leave the room. As soon as he was gone, Wanda completely ignored me and went off to dry her hair. I stood awkwardly in the room, glancing at the couch and the floor.
Where should I sit?
Anywhere you would like, small one. I nearly freaked out. Now that I had heard Wanda, I knew that this was her voice in my head.
How the heck are you doing that?
One of my many powers. I can read minds and enter them if I so wish.
Mind getting out of mine?
Only if you will have a civil conversation with me. I huffed and took a seat on a long couch, sitting near the front so I would crush my wings. Wanda exited the bathroom, which freshly brushed hair, and took a seat beside me.
"So, small one," Wanda commented, a little gleam in her eyes. "Are you going to willingly show me your gift, or am I going to have to try and explain it myself?"
She already knows. Crud. I sighed, and stood up. My wings emerged from my back, and she stared silently at them.
"You do not have a father?" commented Wanda, raising an eyebrow. I gripped my fists. I did NOT like that she was going through my memories. "And your mother…"
"We will not speak of my mother," I growled, taking a deep breath. "Are we clear?" Wanda nodded and I sighed, rubbing down my clothes. "I'm sorry…she is just a part of my life that I don't ever want to talk about."
"We all have those memories," Wanda replied, taking a seat by me. "Would you prefer the couch or the bed to sleep on tonight?" I raised an eyebrow at her.
"What makes you think I want to sleep here tonight?" I spat back. "First, you cause me to faint, second, you enter my mind without my permission, third, you searched through my memories!" Wanda's hands flexed by her side and I smirked. "Is that how you want to play, huh?" I closed my eyes and my mind reached out for hers, and our war of power began.
:/:\:
[Bucky's POV]
I knocked hesitantly on Wanda's and Emily's door, and glanced around. There was movement in the room, but no one seemed to be answering.
"Hey, it's me, Bucky," I called in. "Mind opening the door for me?" No one replied. "Guess not." I tried to turn the knob, but it was locked.
Suddenly, someone screamed from within the room. With that, I reared my foot back and slammed it into the door. It burst open, revealing an insanely damaged room. Emily and Wanda had fury in their eyes as they grappled with each other. Each had a scar on their face and Emily shrieked with pain as Wanda twisted her wrist in an awkward way. Emily brought up her leg and kicked Wanda's stomach, causing Wanda to roll away. I dashed in and held up my hands in front of Wanda and Emily, blocking them from attacking each other.
"What the heck is going on?" I spat, glaring at both of them. Wanda was sitting on the floor, her hand lying on her stomach. Emily was standing, glaring at Wanda, clutching her wrist, her shoulders heaving up and down as she panted. "Emily, outside now." Emily glared at me, her blue eyes piercing my heart as she stomped out. I flipped around and faced Wanda, who was hesitantly standing up. "What the heck Wanda?"
"It was my fault," Wanda panted, wiping the blood from her lips. "I invaded her personal space when I should have just asked." I raised an eyebrow. Wanda was never that easy to admit fault. She snapped her fingers and her room returned back to its normal state. I made sure she was alright before I walked back out to Emily, who was sitting against the wall, her head in her hands.
"Are you alright?" I asked, crouching beside her. She nodded and massaged her temples. "Hey." I reached out and gently grabbed her hand. "Do you want to get some aspirin?" She nodded and I helped her up. We walked toward the elevators and stepped in. I gave her a backwards glance. "You aren't going to faint on me again?"
"Wanda's fault," she replied simply and stepped inside beside me, turning to look at the wall. I shrugged and pressed the floor number for the hospital.