Summary: A year after the civil war, the Avengers are still divided with friendships broken and loyalties torn when they are sent to find a powerful young woman whose life has been destroyed by HYDRA. While Bucky seeks redemption, Martine seeks to get revenge on the people who murdered her grandmother. Co – Written with WalkingPotterGirl14. Bucky/OC, Wanda/OC, Clint/Natasha and Steve/Sharon. Rated M.
Divided We Fall
Chapter 11
"James, you can call me James or Jamie. Remember," Bucky said quietly. Martine smiled then softly.
"I know. I like both names," she says before she headed into her bedroom to have a shower. He finished drinking his coffee, waited a bit, and then went into his own bathroom.
He had a quick shower and stood under the water, as it soothed his aching muscles. For once, his mind wasn't plagued with violent memories from his dark past.
Martine wasn't scared of him or the Winter Soldier. She accepted both sides of him without showing any fear whatsoever. She had even held him and let him touch her face with his metal hand.
Bucky felt his cock harden at the thought, and then cursed.
Now this wasn't the time to get a hard on thinking about Martine.
But no matter how hard he tried, nothing could seem to get it to go away. She was on his mind, and there was no way he was going to think of Winter Soldier memories to make it stop. He'd probably snap.
It'd been so long since even he had touched himself. Maybe just for a bit? It wouldn't kill anyone. Hopefully.
Before his hand could even sink down to wrap his hand around it, there was a knock on the door, which caused him to jump up in the air and look at the door. "What?" he says gruffly.
"Steve just called. He said we really need to get down there now, so hurry it up."
He nods, shaking his head a bit. "Alright. I'll be out." He hears her leave and then his hand goes to the COLD knob on the shower, turning it on. He needed that. This wasn't the time. He wasn't gonna do that.
After a few minutes he finishes up and heads out, heading into his room to get dressed. As he does Martine comes in, handing him a piece of toast. "Might as well energy up. I wonder what happened to my suit. I bet Tony is upgrading it, right?" she chuckles.
He got a look at her outfit, seeing it was a purple tank top with skinny jeans and black boots. She wore her purple leather jacket over it.
She looked sexy. Hell, she looked beautiful. The black jeans hugged her long legs tightly, emphasizing her curves. When she walked back he saw her hips swinging while she moved away, and he tried not to think of anything sexual about her, tried to think of the mission.
He didn't need to get a hex bolt of bad luck on him from the witch. Salem left the room and went to drink from his bowl of fresh water.
Bucky was fond of the cat. Salem seemed to like the whole team, but despised Thaddeus Ross. Martine must have trained him to hate him. The black cat sat on the sofa and dosed off, purring.
"He's getting fat," Bucky said amused, as he noticed the cat had put on weight since arriving at the apartment two months ago.
"No, he's just getting comfy. Salem likes everyone, but isn't keen on the other guy," Martine said dryly. They locked up the house and she stroked Salem, before they headed outside to where Bucky's motorcycle was waiting.
He loved that damn bike.
They got on it and drove to the base, before parking up. They headed into the briefing room, seeing that other people were coming as well.
He saw T'Challa enter then with Peter Parker. And much to everyone's displeasure, Thaddeus Ross, the Home Secretary of the United States.
Adrian glared at the two men, and Bucky saw Wanda take his hand then. Martine nodded at her in thanks for soothing her sometimes volatile brother.
Fury was present and ignored the Home Secretary.
"Adrian," Peter said quietly.
"Traitor," Adrian returned bitterly and glared at his former friend.
Marine rolls her eyes. "Look guys, you're both pretty," she says dryly. "But there's a bigger picture right now than rivalry. HYDRA could be attacking our home at any second." She looks at Fury. "Give us the details."
Fury nods. "Nice to see someone acting mature," he states, glancing at Adrian with a stern look. The young man rolls his eyes before looking away. "We're gonna be taking the quinjet there. Quickest way possible. Once we land, Martine and Wanda will head around town, trying to get into the minds of any suspicious characters while we scope around."
"Are you sure they should be by themselves?" Bucky asks, his arms crossed.
"Yeah, both of them are kinda what HYDRA is looking for," Adrian adds on. Fury shakes his head.
"The two will be fine, they can handle themselves. Once we find a lead we'll head towards where the HYDRA base might be, and sneak in. Those books, what do they look like, Martine?"
"From what I've heard they're covered in leather and a bit dusty. They have our emblem on it."
"Good, then that's who needs to go get them. Martine, you'll go with a few others to get the books while we keep the guards that will surely be around distracted. Got it?"
She nods, looking down at the table.
"Once we get the books, we make a run towards the jet and get the hell outta dodge. They'll find out as soon as we take them so we have to be quick, got it?" Everyone nods. "Good, let's suit up and head out."
Everyone nods and leaves the room, while Martine looks down at the plans on the table. She bites her lip, wondering how the hell this was gonna work.
"Martine?" She looks up and saw it was Bucky, looking at her with a furrowed brow. "You good?"
She clears her throat and nods. "Yeah...but I, uh...nerves are kicking in, you know? Right now realizing this could go really well or really bad."
Bucky comes over to her and grabs her hand, surprising her. "We'll be okay. Somehow." She smiles a bit, looking up at him. Bucky brings his other hand up, the metal one, and brushes away her hair. Again, she didn't flinch.
Before either could say anything, someone cleared their throat, and they practically jumped back from each other. It was Steve, and he had a smirk on his face.
"Sorry to interrupt, but we gotta go."
"Sorry," Martine said embarrassed. She quickly hurried off to suit up, as Steve and Bucky watched on.
Once she was gone, Steve jumped on that shit as soon as possible.
"You like her, don't you!" Steve asked softly. Bucky shook his head then in denial. Martine didn't like him in a sexual or romantic way...it wasn't possible.
"I like her as a friend, Steve," Bucky said quietly. Steve looked at him, scepticism in his eyes.
"I saw the way you looked at her and the way she looked at you. You care about her more than a friend, Buck," Steve said, firmly but gently as he glanced at him.
Bucky sighed.
"She wouldn't want me. Look at me, Steve! I'm a fucked up mess, with a metal left arm and suffering from PTSD! Martine deserves someone who can love her without nearly strangling her," Bucky said bitterly.
It was the truth, as much as he hated to admit it.
Steve's brow furrowed. "Strangling? Bucky, was happened at the apartment?"
Bucky looks down at the ground, his hands turned into fists, and then looks at Steve. "Had a fucking nightmare last night. She came in to wake me up and when I did I was that fucker again. I nearly strangled her to death before she said my name. I nearly killed her last night, Steve. I can't be around her without being a threat to her life!"
Steve was silent, sitting down on the table. Bucky sits down on a chair, his head in his hands. How the hell did he grow feelings for her? He hated nature.
"What did she do afterwards?"
"After I nearly fucking killed her?"
"No, after she jumped to the moon. Of course I mean after that." Bucky looks up, seeing Steve look at him with his arms crossed. He was analyzing.
"She...I ran off and she came for me. I snapped at her but she still brought me back, and then said something to me in French...then she fell asleep next to me." Steve shakes his head and comes over.
"Jesus, I remember back in the forties, you were such a ladies man, and now it's like you know nothing," Steve chuckles, looking down at Bucky. "Bud, if she hasn't left you after that, she cares about you. A lot. A dame that leaves after that wouldn't be worth it. But she stayed with you, and made sure you felt better before actually falling asleep next to you. I don't know exactly what happens in that apartment when we aren't there, but something has. You two are close now, closer than I ever thought would happen. You don't have to say anything now, but say something before it's too late."
Bucky looks at him quietly before he stands back up. Steve sighs before nodding.
"I'm gonna head to the jet. Be sure to get there soon, Buck." And with that, he left.
Bucky sat in silence for a minute, comprehending what Steve said. He was right. She hadn't left. She had let him touch her, hold her hand, more contact he had in years. The only contact he could remember before Martine entered the picture was violence and pain. That was it.
But she lets him touch her. She lets him hold her.
"It's pity," he mutters to himself, shaking himself from his own fucking fantasy. There was no way a woman like that would want him, she deserved someone better. She touched him for pity reasons, and that was it.
He didn't need the pity. He was so done with pity.
And with that, he heads towards the jet, suddenly angry and needing to kill more of those fucking HYDRA people.
As the quinjet flew over the fields, Martine kept glancing at Bucky. He was by himself again, like how he was the first time she saw him. What the hell was his problem?
Shaking her head, she heads to the front where Wanda was. She looked nervous too.
"Scared?"
"Angry. I don't want to see HYDRA again," Wanda mutters.
"Neither do I. They sound like bad news," Martine said bitterly as she sat down next to her. She looked at her suit that Tony had made.
The jacket was still dark purple leather, along with her corset, but her leggings were made of black leather that could resist fire this time. That was pretty freaking cool.
Her suit was similar to Wanda's in a lot of ways. Only difference was the color.
"You like Bucky," Wanda stated softly.
Martine blinked, startled by that statement, as she looked at the woman who had become one of her best friends.
"I like him as a friend."
"Oh, that's bullshit and you know it," Wanda chuckles. Martine shakes her head.
"Trust me, it's not that."
"Sweetheart, it's not a good decision to lie to someone who can read minds." Martine looks down at the ground before sighing, and then looks back at Wanda.
"So what? It's just a stupid crush," she mutters. "And that's an invasion of privacy."
"You think I care about that? And no, this is a little bit more than a crush."
"It doesn't matter," Martine snaps quietly before calming down. "Look, if you knew what happened to me, you wouldn't want me either. Let's just leave it at that. He doesn't want a fucked up girl like me."
Before Wanda could say anything, the quinjet landed, and everyone filed out. Fury looks at the two of them. "Laveau, Maximoff, get out there and listen. We'll scope around and see what we can find. Contact when you find something."
The two women nod and bring up their hoods before heading off. Martine spares a glance at Bucky, but saw he wasn't even looking in her direction. Okay, guess he was just ignoring her.
"Jerk," she mutters before catching up to Wanda. "Let's get to the center of the city. It's where most of the people are going to be. We might be able to get a lead there." Wanda nods, and then the two were off, heading into the area.
Martine walked alongside Wanda as they read the minds of a few people. After walking for a bit, they found a few HYDRA members in a fancy restaurant.
"There's a group across from us in a seafood restaurant called Antoine's," Wanda said into the com as Martine kept an eye out.
"Got it. Meet us at the Acme Oyster House," Steve instructed. They both nodded, before Martine skilfully hides a microphone where she could hear their conversation. She nods to Wanda, and then the two race off towards where they had to go.
Once they reached, Fury instantly comes towards them. "Find something?"
"A whole group of them. I put down a microphone to listen to their conversation."
"Brilliant." Fury takes the device from her hands and listens, but she sees a look on confusion come over his face. "Can't understand a damn word."
Martine's brow furrows before she takes it from him. "It's because they're speaking in French. Give me a second." She listens closely and then looks up. "They said they have a package...at the end of the bay...near a sea house. The house at the end of the bay...the warehouse!"
She remembered that place. Whenever her father had taken her and her brother to the shore when they were younger, she would see it and wonder what was inside. Now she knew what exactly hid in its chambers.
"HYDRA's base here is at an old abandoned warehouse at the end of the dock, right near Lake Pontchartrain. I always used to go there, shit." She runs a hand through her hair. "That might be where the books are. It has to be."
Fury nods. "Never knew French would come in handy so much," he muses before turning to them. "Alright, change of plans. While we figure out the course of action for tomorrow, you all are going to rest."
Everyone looked shocked and confused.
"I realized that someone's grandmother still hadn't had her funeral yet." Martine looks down at the ground. "Martine and Adrian need to have a proper goodbye to their grandmother, so we're going to have that done for them. Afterwards, we can head to the HYDRA base."
Martine looks away. She guessed it was easy to see. The moment she stepped back into New Orleans she felt uneasy because she hadn't said goodbye to her grandma.
Fury must have noticed.
He was like that, observing them when they didn't notice, and although it was slightly odd, she was actually thankful for what he was doing.
"Thanks, Fury," Adrian said quietly. The older man nodded at him.
"No problem. I've already set up a hotel to stay at. Now...since we are here, how about we order some food?" he asks. They nod, everyone chipping in, and they all started to order their meals.
"What are you having?" Bucky asked quietly, as he looked at his menu that listed the food for dinner. Martine raises an eyebrow. Now he wasn't ignoring her. He was being weird. But she smiled and looked up at him all the same.
"I'm having the fried oyster platter with fried crawfish," Martine said softly. Bucky nodded.
"I'll have the same," Bucky decided quietly. Martine smiled at him before they heard voices behind them.
"Well I didn't expect you to be here," a smooth voice said surprised. They looked up to see none other than Carla Laveau with Audrey Eastman and Christine Everhart.
"We could say the same here...mother," Adrian said bitterly.
Everyone looks up, and then everyone could instantly feel the tension that rose from Martine and Adrian. Bucky places a hand on Martine's back, and the movement instantly calms her down. But only a little.
"Can't believe you two have the nerve to show up nearly two months after your grandmother has passed on. Disrespectful."
"Fuck you!" Martine suddenly shrieks, standing up. Everyone looks, but she was angry. She didn't need her mother berating her in front of her friends. "You've been doing nothing but publicizing her death ever since she passed away!"
"You haven't even been here!" Carla snaps back at her.
"You haven't been here all my life!" She snaps at her.
"Well you're just a little witch freak!" Her mother snarls, standing up as well. "And you've been with your gremlin of a brother and these freaks while I've been here trying to get this crap together-"
"You haven't gotten shit!"
Briefly Martine saw the reporter jotting down everything, so she suddenly takes the phone and throws it across the wall. The reporter glares at her.
"What the hell?!"
"I'm so fucking sick of people like you making my grandmother seem like a bad person! I found her dead for fucks sake!" Her eyes were glowing purple. She was angry.
"My grandmother was a good person who knew that the Superhero Registration Act was a terrible idea, and you know what? Grandmama was right. People like you and Audrey Eastman blame the Avengers for things that weren't their fault! They lost people too in case you haven't noticed," Martine snapped enraged.
"Like who? Freaks like them?" Audrey Eastman asked snidely. Martine saw red.
"Matt Murdoch lost his father because he didn't lose a fight and it costed him his life. Bucky Barnes was a war hero who got brainwashed and was being branded as a psychotic murderer by you people. Natasha Romanoff was tortured and brainwashed by a fucked up Government. Tony Stark, James Rhodes and Peter Parker were manipulated by the pro-Registration Act. Frank Castle got let down by the Government after his family got slaughtered by the Irish Mob, and Wanda lost her twin brother when he sacrificed himself to save Clint and a little boy. Let's not forget that it's because of the law that he and Natasha lost a dear friend, who was his wife, and left his children without a mom!" Martine snarled enraged. Christine and other people were writing everything down.
She didn't care anymore. Let them write horrible things about her, but she wasn't letting them say horrible and untrue things about her friends.
Friends.
That's what they were.
"My brother was tortured in a prison that was to imprison superheroes, and they murdered his best friend. Jessica Jones and Luke Cage are good people too, and protect people. So is Steve Rodgers and Sharon Carter. It's just a shame that ignorant people are stopping them, like Carla Townsend and Audrey Eastman," Martine said coldly.
She then grabbed her bag and was about leave, when she glared at Carla, who was fuming.
"Au revoir," she said sarcastically, and left then, starting to walk down the French Quarter.
And she felt fine.
The restaurant was silent after Martine's outburst. Everyone was taking in the fact that Martine had defended the Avengers, her team, so passionately, loyally and fiercely.
Wanda was touched, and she saw the others were too.
"Aren't you going to arrest her?!" Audrey demanded angrily.
Fury glanced at her dispassionately.
"I'm sorry, but she committed no crime." He stands and then nods at the others, and then at the petrified server. "We'll take our food to go. We're not staying here."
The man nods and races inside before instantly coming back out with take home dishes. They all leave the restaurant, and Fury tells them were the hotel was. Bucky looks down at the food before looking back at Fury.
"Go find her," Fury says. Bucky nods and then leaves the group, off to try and find Martine, the food in his hands.
It took him a while to find her. Either she was really good at blending in, or she was just in plain sight and he couldn't see her. And it was unusual with the skills he head. She was just a good hider. And then he did find her.
She was sitting by the water, her hand hanging down, and her feet dangling in the cool liquid. Bucky quietly walks over, and she doesn't notice he's there. "Martine?"
Her head snaps up and then she sighs. "Sorry for running off like that...they just got me angry." He sits down next to her and she watches as he removed his shoes too. "You don't have to stay here, you know."
"We're in a city with HYDRA people. Gotta stay." He hands her the food. "And you left this." She smiles and shakes her head.
"Thanks, James." She starts to dig into the food, looking at the sunset. "I shouldn't have snapped like that. It's gonna be all over the news tomorrow," she whispers. "How am I gonna face all of that?"
Bucky nudges her side. "If you can face HYDRA you can face anything. Doesn't matter." He looks down at his food and takes a bite. "Damn, this is good. You should make stuff like this back home."
She raises an eyebrow. "Home? That apartment?"
He stops eating and looks over at her. He looked embarrassed. "Yah...just feels like it."
She smiles at him and goes back to her own food, silence hanging around. For a moment she sighs and then looks over at him. "How come you were ignoring me earlier?"
Bucky looks down at the water. "Just talked to Steve...I didn't think you really cared about me or wanted to be there. Just thought it was pity, and I hate getting pitied. It makes me feel weaker than I already am," he mutters.
She looks down at her food and then speaks softly. "How could you ever think I don't care about you?"
"A lot of people don't," he says, his reply instant. His voice bitter. "No matter how much you say people care, a lot don't too. Can't help it when you've murdered people's families. Gets to them."
"Well then they don't matter,"' she says quietly. "If they can't forgive you then they aren't worth it." She looks up at him. "And I do care about you. So stop thinking I don't."
Enjoy and review :)