I sat as close to my brother as I could to my brother while being cuffed to the wall of the jet.

"How long have you been there?" Clint asked me.

"A while," I said. "I've been moved around so much that I can't remember all the places I haven't seen." I attempted to joke but he just stared at me.

"I'm so sorry."

"This isn't your fault," I told him. "My abilities got me into this."

"What did they do to you?" I looked down into my lap.

"I don't want to talk about it," I mumbled.

"You can't hold all of that in," he told me.

"I know, and I had friends who helped me in the end," I told him. "Not that it matters now."

"I need to know what happened." I shook my head at his words.

"You don't want to know," I told him harshly. He just stared at me confused for a moment. "This is not something I'm talking to you about."

"You used to tell me everything."

"That was a long time ago."

"It feels good, yeah?" Stark asked moving to the blond man from before. "I mean, you've been after this thing since SHIELD collapsed. Not that I haven't enjoyed our little raiding parties, but..."

"No, but this...this brings it to a close," the blond man told him.

"As soon as we find out what else this has been used for. I don't just mean weapons. Since when is Strucker capable of human enhancement?" the man in the red, white, and blue outfit asked.

"Not that long ago," I told them and they all turned to me. "They only started the experiments a few months ago. After they got that thing..." My words died in my throat as they all stared at me. "It wasn't that long ago that they started their "enhancements". At least it didn't feel that way."

"I'm thinking Banner and I'll give it the once before it goes back to Asgard. Is that cool with you?" Stark asked the blond who nodded his head.

"I wouldn't do that," I said and they all looked at me again. "That thing has already ruined enough lives, hasn't it?" I asked looking them all in the eye.

"I mean, just a few days until the farewell party. You're staying, right?" Stark asked the blond.

"Yes, yes, of course. A victory should be honored with revels," the man said and I rolled my eyes at them. This was what they considered a victory? When that thing was destroyed, then I'd celebrate.

"Yeah. Who doesn't love revels, Captain?"

"Hopefully this puts an end to the Chitauri and HYDRA, so. Yes, revels." He finally turned to me and offered a small smile. "I'm Steve Rogers by the way. This is Thor, Bruce Banner, Natasha Romanov, Tony Stark, and Clint Barton. And you?"

"Victoria Barton."

"Barton?" Steve asked looking at Clint in confusion.

"She's my sister and the reason I joined Shield," Clint said and I looked at him confused.

"What's Shield?"

"A part of the government that's no longer operational," Steve told me before turning away. I sat back and tried to get comfortable for the rest of the flight.


When the aircraft landed at wherever we were they took my brother away so he could be treated and I stayed with Steve.

"Lab's all set up, boss," a brunette woman told Stark.

"Uh, actually, he's the boss," Stark said pointing at Steve. "I just pay for everything, and design everything and make everyone look cooler."

"Bang-up job," I said sarcastically which earned me a small glare.

"What's the word on Strucker?" Steve asked her.

"NATO's got him."

"The two enhanced?" She handed him a tablet which, I noticed as I looked over his shoulder, had a picture of Pietro and Wanda with their files.

"Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. Twins. Orphaned at ten when a shell collapsed their apartment building. Sokovia's had a rough history. It's nowhere special but it's on the way to everywhere special," she explained.

"Their abilities?" he asked.

"He's got increased metabolism and improved thermal homeostasis. Her thing is neural electric interfacing, telekinesis, mental manipulation," she explained and he just gave her a confused look. "He's fast and she's weird."

"No, she's not," I defended. "She can control anything she wants to with her mind. It's an incredible power and she learned to master it while locked in a cell with barely enough room to do the jumping jacks in."

"Well, they're going to show up again," Steve said.

"Agreed. File says they volunteered for Strucker's experiments. It's nuts."

"Right. What kind of monster would let a German scientist experiment on them to protect their country?" he asked her sarcastically.

"We're not at war, Captain," She reminded him.

"They are."

"Well, at least your right about that," I commented before he moved me to where my brother was.


"You sure he's going to be okay? Pretending to need this guy really brings the team together," Natasha told the doctor.

"There's no possibility of deterioration," the Doctor told us. "The nano-molecular functionality is instantaneous. His cells don't know they're bonding with simulacrum."

"What the hell does that mean?" I asked.

"She's creating tissue," Banner told me.

"If you brought him to my lab, the regeneration Cradle could do this in twenty minutes," she stated.

"The Cradle?" I asked them.

"It's a device that we use to heal seriously injured people."

"Is he that bad off?" I asked worriedly.

"No," Clint said quickly. "I'm fine. Nothing she can't heal up."

"Oh, he's flatlining. Call it. Time?" Stark asked sarcastically.

"No, no, no. I'm going to live forever. I'm gonna be made of plastic," Clint joked and I laughed as Stark handed him a drink.

"Here's your beverage."

"You'll be made of you, Mr. Barton. Your own girlfriend won't be able to tell the difference," the Doctor assured him.

"Well, I don't have a girlfriend," Clint said and I gave him a confused look. Last I knew he was dating someone everyone had really liked. What happened? Was it because I was taken?

"That I can't fix," the Doctor laughed. "This is the next thing, Tony. Your clunky metal suits are going to be left in the dust."

"Well, that is exactly the plan," Stark told her. "And Helen, I expect to see you at the party on Saturday."

"Unlike you, I don't have a lot of time for parties," she told him before hesitating. "Will Thor be there?"


I sat in what looked like an infirmary while their doctor, Dr. Helen Cho I'd learned, looked me over while the Avengers watched.

"I wasn't hurt in the fight, you know," I reminded them. She lifted my arm and looked at the several healed holes and cuts in it. She looked worried about them for a moment before moving on to the rest of me. She started to lift my top when I stopped her. "Some things shouted be seen."

"She has to make sure they didn't do anything that will come back later," Clint assured me.

"Nothing will," I told him as she tried lifting my shirt again. This time the back. I tried pulling back down before she gasped. Clint was immediately at her side staring at the map of my torture.

"What did they do to you?" he asked angrily.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Vicky," I smiled at the name. I hadn't heard it in so long. "You have to talk to me."

"I will," I told him. "But I can't do it now. You'll just have to relearn how to trust me."

"I never stopped." He pulled me into his arms and squeezed me tightly. "You're safe now, Vik. Nothing will ever hurt you again."