A/N: NOT THAT LUCKY HAS HIT OVER 10K VIEWS AND I AM SCREAMING. Thanks again to everyone reading and leaving me comments, I love you guys so much wow. I figured now was a good time to start a CONTEST ! I know you guys were eager to see what I had planned for Aj's birthday (planned of course by Tony Stark and Clint Barton) but I'm curious to see what YOU think they'd plan for her birthday soiree!

The contest is this: Write a drabble (literally of any length you want) of the boys planning and/or throwing her birthday celebration and the winner will get to work with me on creating an OC of their design to guest star in this story!

If you decide to join the contest (and I hope you do!) just let me know when you post the drabble (can I be tagged in things on this website? Idk) and I'll not only read it but I will also advertise for everyone reading this story to also check out the drabbles!

Let me know if you have any questions!

Chapter 17:

Say 'Uncle'!

"he set fire to the world around him but never let a flame touch her." –unknown

Bucky watched with a soft gaze as the woman beside him scribbled away into a small notebook. It had been three days since Aj locked herself away behind a 'Do Not Disturb' feature, three days since he almost ran out of the Compound to go searching for her in Jersey after an impromptu call from Alex, but she seemed alright. The story was that Aj had found her long lost uncle, from her mother's side, while also finding out that her mother's accidental death hadn't been so accidental and that many of her memories didn't align with what her uncle told her. Bucky believed that. Since finding out this information, Aj had been remembering small, random things and had decided to start jotting them down in a notebook. Bucky just had a bad feeling that there was more going on than she admitted.

He wouldn't push on the topic. He'd never push on the topic. This was Aj's issue, and she was allowed to handle it however she felt necessary. One thing that gave it away was the fact that Aj had been so…touchy. The woman had always been someone who sought out touch all times of the day, but it seemed like she was touch starved all over again. She'd curl up into the side of anyone who stood still long enough to let her. Even now, as she wrote in her journal with her right hand, Aj used her left hand to trace random shapes on his outstretched right arm.

"Did you remember something new?" Bucky mumbled his question.

"Maybe." Aj replied without looking up. "I think…" The kitchen not far from them was bustling with activity, but it was all too easy to focus on the intimate space between them. Aj set down her pen and glanced at him, "I had a blue bedroom?"

"What shade of blue?"

"Funnily enough," Aj hummed then ran a thumb over the bracelet wrapped around his wrist. "This shade. Ironic, huh?" Bucky saw the look of disappointment on her features. He pulled his right arm away from her reach and tried his best to ignore the cute pout of her lips at the motion. Bucky immediately set his right hand to rest on the back of her neck. He gave it one light squeeze and her pout disappeared into relief. Bucky let his thumb trace the side of her neck as she continued to speak, "It's just frustrating not to be able to remember…uh…" Bucky gave her a smirk and raised an eyebrow at her as she slowly realized she was preaching to the choir. "Sorry."

"Don't be." Bucky chuckled. "It is frustrating, but you're doing great. Just keep at it."

"Thanks." Aj hummed. She shut the notebook in front of her and sighed, "We gotta start thinking about what we're doing for dinner tonight."

Bucky crunched his eyebrows together, "Breakfast isn't even over."

"I mean," Aj rolled her eyes, "The twins are out taking their GED right now. They're obviously gonna do amazing so we have to celebrate tonight. Big family dinner."

"Will the others be here for it?" Bucky asked, and Aj muttered that she wasn't sure, but she hoped they would be. Steve and most of the other active Avengers had some meeting planned this afternoon with Director Fury, and it was probably going to lead to a mission. That's what everyone assumed at least. The meeting supposedly wasn't about mutants, but that made Bucky more nervous than if it was. He didn't like how they just disappeared off the playing board like this. Not knowing what they were up to was much, much worse.

Aj stood up suddenly and Bucky stiffened at the loss of her touch. She scooped up her notebook, "I'm gonna head down to the training gym. Apparently, we have new recruits coming in and Natasha wanted me to meet them for some reason." She grimaced. "I have a feeling she's going to try and make me train as a recruit."

"Have fun." Bucky smirked and resisted the urge to pull her back into his arms. Ever since that day, he'd had this nagging feeling at the back of his neck. Bucky always wanted to have Aj within reach. Wanting to be around her in general wasn't a new thing for him, not at all, but this was much more possessive than he was used to. It was like the part that was concerned for her well-being was in overdrive. Bucky couldn't protect her if she was out of sight. He just didn't understand why it was so overpowering these last couple days.

I sat in my office, freshly showered from the gym, and stared at the back wall covered in strings and newspaper clippings. After working out with Natasha and some of the new recruits I came back here to work while the others went to their meeting with Fury. I pushed out of my chair and began to pull things off the wall so I could rearrange and add to it.

The mystery of my 'Guardian Angel' had been solved. Now, it was time to figure out who killed my mom, and I had a sinking suspicion that it had something to do with HYDRA. If someone had told me a year ago that my life was so tangled with the big, bad villain that the Avengers had to deal with on a regular basis I would've laughed. Well, I would've punched the person in the face and then laughed actually.

By all accounts, it made no damn sense why I was so involved with this organization.

There were gaping holes in the story of my life, and I hated it.

I started with my birth. June 28th, 1988. I always thought I had been born in Summerbrooke, Alabama and then was raised there my entire life. The news of being in Queens from age one to nine changed things. It wasn't like I had my birth certificate with me to fact check any of this either. I called the hospital in Summerbrooke though, seeing if they had any sort of record of me, but it came up a dead end. When I asked FRIDAY to look me up in the hospital records of the hospitals surrounding Summerbrooke and even ones in New York, there was still nothing.

I had no idea where I had been born and I was starting to wonder if my birthdate was even my real birthdate. It had always been the day we celebrated, but God I felt like I couldn't trust any of my memories anymore.

From there, I chronologically made a note of every single big memory I had from birth to my mom dying. Many of the memories were random things, like picking fights with some of Aubrey's bullies or breaking the arm of my third-grade crush, but every single one of them took place in Summerbrooke. Still, if I remembered it then I put it on the wall.

Frank had texted me yesterday saying he'd be busy for a couple days with work stuff, which I assumed meant he'd be prowling the streets taking out cartels and gangs, but when he was done with that I'd have to sit down with him and ask him about any memories he had of me from that age to compare. Was my entire past not real or was the location just wrong? Did these incidents actually happen just in Queens or had they all been made up?

When I was 10, December 19th, 1998, my mom died. I remembered it so damn clearly. I could still feel the burning stench of a sterile hospital room. Holding her weak hand as she slipped away. The deafening echoing of her heart monitor mingling with the sound of Aubrey's wailing sobs. My dad's warms hands softly pulling me away from my mom's lifeless body when I refused to leave her. How were these memories so powerful if they were wrong?

I made a note on the wall, on that date, that around this time was when we were taken from Queens down to Alabama. Two years passed in Alabama and then Frank came down to see us and to say good-bye. Dad left a little while after that. From 12 to 14, me and Aubrey were in Alabama foster homes. At 14, she bailed. Then I spent the rest of my time, up until I turned 18 and graduated high school, in Summerbrooke. That all had to be real memories, right? It had to be. Granny knew and remembered me. Josh Thompson recognized and remembered me. I could count on their accounts.

With a sigh, I dropped back down onto my desk chair and stared up at the messy wall. Ever since I spoke with Frank, I was dreaming of details. It'd come to me in the middle of the night, or I would see something, and it'd remind me of something I didn't recognize. I'd follow the memory, the thought, but it would only lead to a dead end. I wondered if I could find the house I supposedly lived in during my childhood. Frank said it was down the street from his parent's house. It couldn't be too hard to find. Maybe that was a day better saved to spend with Frank. I'd only have more questions if I went alone.

My eyes drifted back to the sticky note of my mom's death. Mom was a mutant, HYDRA had a knack for looking for mutants in the past… it made sense, right? I hadn't seen her name in any of the Project Omega files though. Frank had said my mom disappeared when he was eight years old. She would've been eighteen. I grabbed another sticky note and this time I started making a timeline of the things I knew happened before my birth.

Aubrey was born February 11th, 1984. My mom ran away from the Castle family at some point in the year of 1981. There was a gap there where Frank had no idea where my mom had been or what she was doing, but during that gap was when she must've met my dad.

The sudden, rapid sound of someone banging on my front door made me jump out of my seat in surprise. I mumbled a curse under my breath before jogging out of the office making sure to close the door behind me. The knocking continued loudly, "I'm coming! I'm coming! Chill out, Jesus!"

When I swung the door open, I was greeted by the twins standing side by side, shoulder to shoulder. They proudly held up two matching diplomas with their names on each. Broad smiles decorated their features as my eyes widened. Was it 3 in the afternoon already?

"You're done?" I cried then shook my head, "Oh my God, y'all passed!"

"We passed!" Pietro yelled loudly and shook his diploma recklessly.

"Congra—oof!" The word was barely out of my mouth before I was tackled into a hug by both Wanda and Pietro. The weight threw me off and we crumpled to the ground in a ball of laughter. I sat, beaming in pride, as they rattled off on a story about their experience at the testing center and how they felt. Pietro kept cutting in, interrupting Wanda with his own details, and every once in a while, Wanda would get too excited and slip into Sokovian. When they finally got out everything they wanted to say, I grinned at them, "I knew you guys could do it. I'm so proud of y'all."

Wanda wrapped me up into another teary-eyed hug as she glowed in excitement, "Thank you so much for everything, Aj. All the studying you did with us—"

"I would not have done half as much of work without you." Pietro admitted with a nod.

"Anything for y'all." I gave them both a separate, tight hug before looking back at them in pride. Is this what it felt like to be a proud mama bird? God, I wanted to take their diplomas and hang them on my fridge for the world to see. "Hey! I was thinking we could all go out to dinner tonight to celebrate. Y'all's choice!" Pietro immediately began to list places while Wanda argued with him on it. I chuckled, "Have you shown the others yet?"

Pietro shook her head like I had asked a stupid question, "We wanted you to know first, of course."

"Well," I stood up and tried to hide the warm blush of love I felt was hover me, "Most everyone is in a meeting, but let's go find Bucky. He'll be excited to see this."

The twins bounced in agreement, and Pietro disappeared in a flash while Wanda yelled out after him. I chuckled again to myself as Wanda and I jogged after the speedster to find Bucky in the Compound. Mom would understand if I took a break from vengeance to celebrate the kids.

Tony liked Nick Fury. He really did. Whether Nick Fury liked it or not, he was a part of this family. Hell, he was kind of what brought them all together. He was like a distant father they constantly tried to please. Except, unlike his real dad who had a similar vibe, Tony respected Nick. Right now, though? Tony wanted to punch him in his good eye. You know, family stuff.

"What makes you think I know anything more about the mutants?" Nick hummed from the head of the conference table.

Tony tilted his head with drawn out words, "Uh… Because you know everything?"

"They said they'd leave Aj alone, and haven't they?" Nick replied. Tony resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The man laced his hands together and leaned on the table, "I'm here because we have a lead on Strucker finally."

Steve, all business at the moment, nodded, "What's the lead?"

"A scientist. Strucker's been working with him closely for this project it looks like and while we still haven't figured out how to track Strucker down to his main base of operations, we know where to find this guy." Nick answered. "He was seen traveling through Dallas, Texas a few days ago."

Clint bobbed his head, "Ye-haw."

"It helps our case that he's leaving a trail of altered mutants behind him." Nick added. "All the mission specs have been downloaded to your—"

"Back to the non-altered mutants," Tony leaned forward in his seat. He wasn't going to let this go and the exasperation on Nick's face told him he knew this, "Aj's mom was a mutant. Elizabeth Castle. Because apparently her maiden name was Castle and apparently Aj is related to a guy running around the streets being referred to as the 'Punisher'." Tony glanced around the room, arms half held up, "Can we please address the elephant in the room?"

Nick crossed his arms, "What do you think I know about that?"

"I think you know more about Aj's past than we do. More than even she does." Natasha was the one to speak up with a raised eyebrow. Nick shot her a mildly betrayed look that read, 'not you too'. The red head glanced around, "Finding out about… Uncle Frank was a good surprise. Aj is happy about that. She's glad to call him family." Natasha's eyebrows bunched together in worry. "I'm concerned that the next surprise won't be as happy."

"How many more surprises do you think are in store?" Nick pressed.

"Even one more is one too many." Steve replied.

Vision lightly held one hand up to gain attention, "If I can say, I've searched through the internet and any files we have to find out more about Aj and her history and…" He pressed his lips together in thought, "It's suspicious how little I am able to find about her mother and father."

The room was quiet, all eyes on Nick Fury, as the man pondered on his next move. Tony could almost see him moving the chess pieces in his brain around the board. Finally, Nick nodded once, "Elizabeth Castle was in the files we found about Project Omega."

"I don't remember seeing her name." Clint argued.

"They didn't use her name." Nick replied. "Subject #34. That's her."

"FRIDAY." Tony called out, but the AI confirmed what he wanted before he could even finish his statement. The room lights dimmed just a bit as all the file information on 'subject #34' was brought onto the holographic table in front of them. Tony swiped through a few pages until he came across a video. "Play."

The grainy video showed a woman lying on a metal table, strapped in, while wearing a dingy patient gown. Men in white coats worked around her and one in particular walked over with a vial of something blue. Tony flinched when they stuck the needle into her petite arm and the woman began to scream.

Steve swiped at the screen so the video cut off and disappeared. He shook his head, "We don't need to see all of that. Not like this where Aj could just walk in and see…"

See her mother being tortured.

Nick pressed on the table and the video was replaced by a case file. He spoke, "Subject #34—"

"Elizabeth." Tony corrected firmly. His eyes met Nick, "Use her name."

"Elizabeth." Nick nodded once, "She wasn't an omega level mutant. She was an alpha, however. It wasn't clear what her ability was, they only have the word 'mental capabilities' written down." Nick sighed. "She was one of the subjects being used to try and create a new kind of omega. They couldn't control the mutation itself, but they were adding variables—"

Steve cut in with a blank look on his features, "The vial. It was the super soldier serum, wasn't it?"

"A watered-down attempt of it, yes." Nick nodded. "It looks like they never managed to perfect Erskine's serum and whatever they used was different than the formula used on James Barnes."

Clint groaned, "They really need to stop making remixes of that shit."

"I think Strucker is playing with the serum used in those mutant trials and whatever is happening to the altered mutants is because of it." Nick said.

Sam leaned back in his seat, "You think he's injecting the serum into mutants to see if it transforms them into an omega?"

"Yes." Nick nodded. "It isn't working though. Coulson and his team have been picking up any altered mutants they set loose and we… we can't revert them. Nothing we've tried works and then we run out of time. The serum burns them out from the inside."

"They've been dying?" Vision clarified.

"As of now, getting that serum is a death sentence for the mutant." Nick gave another solemn nod, "Admittedly, we've been working with the X-Men on that front. I thought they might know a way to fix it, but they're as lost as us."

"It didn't kill Aj's mom though, did it?" Clint asked. "She survived those trials."

"Maybe Strucker played with the formula." Tony offered. "Tried to make it stronger, but instead made it deadlier." Tony began to look through the files on the holo-table. "Do we know Elizabeth's reaction to the serum?"

"No." Nick stood up from his seat and Tony glanced over at him. "All the results files are still missing." Tony cursed under his breath but continued to flip through the information in front of him. He had looked through most of this multiple times, but a fresh look never hurt. "Now, when will Barnes be mission ready?"

Tony's eyes widened in surprise at the question, but no one in the room looked more shocked than Steve. Before Steve could proclaim his opinion though, Natasha answered calmly, "Not until we have a firmer handle on the trigger words still in his head. Wanda thinks she can turn the triggers off in a way. Until then he doesn't trust himself in the field and I agree with him on the sentiment."

"What?" Steve turned in his seat to look at Natasha.

"Nick asked me to assess the situation and I talked to Bucky about it." Natasha shrugged. "He asked me not to mention it to you." Her eyes snapped back to Nick in mild annoyance. "I had planned on keeping it that way."

Nick shook his head, "Still, I want him training with the new batch of recruits."

"You want to train the Winter Soldier?" Tony asked. "One of the deadliest assassin's to ever walk this Earth? You think we have more to offer him training wise?"

The only response Tony got was an aggravated sigh and mumbles under his breath that sounded suspiciously like cursing. Nick motioned to the table once before sliding his beanie back onto his head, "This is why I don't visit often." He moved towards the door. "Hill is running ops for Coulson, but I have Agent 13 working with the X-Men—"

"Sharon is with the mutants?" Sam asked in surprise.

"Call her if you need something." Nick shot them all a follow up glare, "Don't need anything."

Then as always, the mysterious man breezed out of the room without another word. Tony let his gaze drift back to the table as Steve whipped around to begin arguing with Natasha who wasn't having that shit today. He swiped through a few more files until he landed on the truncated papers on Subject #34. There were still a dozen questions that needed to be dealt with, but at least they were moving in the right direction now.

Anytime the Avengers went out on the town for something it was a debacle. It seemed like everyone wanted to get a peek at the superheroes just living their lives like normal human beings. Luckily, it meant they had gotten very, very good at sneaking around. The twins had chosen a restaurant in Manhattan that was run by a Sokovian chef. The restaurant itself didn't exclusively serve Sokovian food, but anytime we came he would come out to greet the twins and prepare whatever they wanted from home. It was a mix of the guy being really nice and Tony throwing a lot of money his way.

Tony had made reservations at multiple other places to throw off any paparazzi that would get tipped off, and the restaurant gave us a private table away from the rest. It also helped that we had come for a very early dinner. It was only a little after 5:30 in the evening, but since the Avengers had a mission waiting on them this was what worked best. We'd have dinner, celebrate, and then the active Avengers would leave for their mission while the rest of us went home.

"What're you gonna get? We have to plan this accordingly. Both of us get two different things so we can then share and have a little of everything." Clint explained the battle plan to me as we looked through the same menu. He sat to my left with his arm stretched over the back of my chair. Ever since that night, Clint's protective drive had been kicked into a whole new level. Since he already knew the basic gist of it, from knowing about Kate, when Natasha brought me home I had decided to talk to him about it too. Clint listened intently, like he always did, and then he wrapped me up into the longest hug I think I've ever had. I had actually stayed over in their apartment that night. We spent hours just talking with movies playing in the background that we didn't pay attention to. It was nice. Clint snapped his fingers in front of my face with his free hand jokingly, "I need your full attention, kid. This is life or death."

I chuckled, "This is picking dinner, you dramatic dork."

"You wound me with your lack of passion."

The table was filled with light conversation similar to ours. Across from Clint and I, were Tony and Sam respectively. Natasha sat on Clint's other side while Steve sat beside me and then beside him was Bucky. Across from Natasha, and beside Tony was Pietro while his sister sat on the other side of the table across from Steve, nestled between Sam and Vision. Star sat in her lap coloring in a notebook happily.

"I think you should go with a pasta, and I will go with a meat." Clint pulled me back into the conversation. "That will give us the best of both worlds."

I leaned my head on his shoulder, "You're the boss, boss."

"Damn straight." Clint replied, but Tony just barked out in laughter, "Since when?"

Clint shot him a glare, but set down the menu, "Also, I want to meet this uncle of yours."

I sat up with wide eyes, "Really?"

"Of course." Tony chimed. "We already ran a background check on him—"

Sam held a hand up, "One he didn't pass, mind you."

"—and now we gotta meet Uncle Frankie." Tony finished.

I grinned, "I really want y'all to meet him too. But if you call him Uncle Frankie he might stab you."

"I believe that." Tony replied.

"You should invite him to our next family dinner." Steve offered from beside me and I gave him a warm smile at the suggestion.

There was nothing I wanted more than for Frank to meet everyone. The Avengers were so important to me, they were my absolute family, blood or not, and maybe it was weird, but I was already possessive of my new Uncle. Every part of me craved for him to be around. I wasn't sure if it was because my brain craved answers or if it was just some internal memory making me feel this way, but it was what it was. Frank was family and I wanted him around.

"Can I call him Frank the Tank or will that also get me stabbed?" Tony asked.

I barked out a laugh, but Natasha rolled her eyes and replied, "if you call him Frank the Tank I will stab you for him."

"You're supposed to be on my side, red."

"Don't remind me."

The chef came out with a waiter and while we gave our orders the chef spoke cheerily to the twins. Our waiter left before the chef did since he lingered to just converse, and I was caught off guard when Steve suddenly stood from beside me. I glanced over at him and noticed Bucky had stood up as well.

"Everything okay?" I asked, eyes darting from the blond to the brunet.

"Yeah, we just wanted to stretch our legs." Steve replied and I didn't believe him even a little.

My eyes landed on Bucky's soft gaze. He gave me a small smile and nodded, "We're fine, doll. Don't worry."

I twisted my lips, still a little concerned at the tired resolve on Bucky's face and the eyebrows of disappointment on Steve's, but nodded once, "Okay. Hurry back."

The super soldiers slipped away and turned my attention back to the table as Pietro began to tell a story making fun of Sam with his outstretched arms. I felt Clint's thumb tap against the side of my arm furthest from him and glanced at him curiously. Clint used the arm not around me to sign the phrase 'Are you okay?', and I just nodded, "I'm good. I promise."

Clint bobbed his head, content with my answer, and we both turned back to the table just in time to see Sam argue loudly with Pietro about the credibility of his story while trying to reach past Tony to hit him.

"You've been talking to Nat about being an Avenger?" Steve demanded without beating around the bush. They stood around a corner out on the balcony of the restaurant away from prying eyes. "Bucky?"

His friend sighed, "Yeah. I have."

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Steve pressed. Bucky didn't immediately answer and Steve continued along his line of thought, "Are you sure this is a good idea? I thought you said you were tired of fighting? If this is about Fury—"

Bucky shook his head, "I don't want to fight, but if there's a fight going on I can't just sit back and do nothing." He crossed his arms. "This mutant and HYDRA thing with Aj isn't even close to over. I can help—"

Steve argued, "I don't know if that's a good idea, Buck. You—"

"Stevie. This is why I talked to Nat about it and not you." Bucky said firmly and Steve's eyes widened in surprise. The dark-haired man let out a slow sigh. This was obviously a conversation he wasn't planning on having anytime soon. "I'm still really fucked up, Steve—"

"Bucky—"

"But I'm not made of glass." Bucky finished firmly. "You're looking out for me, and I appreciate that, but you're tiptoeing around me. Treating me as if I'll fall apart if someone looks at me too long or breathes in my direction."

Steve clenched his jaw in frustration. He knew he's been overbearing. It wasn't a shock to hear that. Steve couldn't help it though. The thought of Bucky reverting or being hurt filled him with a paralyzing fear. He let out a slow sigh of his own and forced his jaw to unclench, "I just don't wanna lose you, Buck. Not again. Not right after I got you back finally."

A slow, boyish grin filled Bucky's features and it reminded him of back before all of this happened. Back when Bucky was just the popular, confident skirt chaser that would beat the bullies off him anytime Steve found them. Bucky uncrossed his arms to clap his hand onto his shoulder, "You ain't gonna lose me, punk. I'm around for the long haul. You're stuck with a long life of me chasing after your ass and bitching at you for all the stupid shit you do."

"I'm not that scrawny kid from Brooklyn anymore, jerk. I don't need babysitting."

"Please." Bucky scoffed. "I remember our Howling Commandos days enough to know that the serum only made you more reckless. And somehow since then you've only gotten worse."

Steve shook his head, "Hardly. That's an exagg—"

"So, you didn't jump out of a plane without a parachute on multiple occasions?" Bucky asked with a raised eyebrow. Steve babbled uselessly, and Bucky continued on, "And you didn't pick fights with aliens from space and demented robots?"

Steve shook his head, "You really need to stop talking to the others about my old missions."

"Uh huh." Bucky replied.

"How're you feeling?" Steve tried to shift the conversation away from him getting scolded. "You still feel off?"

Bucky nodded, "A little. It's not so bad though. Saw Muneeba today for a session and she helped me out." Steve nodded. He wanted to ask for more details, but he knew he wasn't supposed to ask about what Bucky and Muneeba talked about. Sam had drilled that into his head multiple times. Bucky must have noticed though and explained further, "Lately, I haven't felt…lost. I've felt more…on edge. Protective. Muneeba thinks that isn't my past or the trigger words affecting me. She thinks—" Bucky hesitated. "—she thinks it's Yakov."

"The…alter?" Steve recalled what they've referred Yakov as before.

"Yeah. He was created by my brain to try and protect me so she thinks the protective edge I'm feeling is from him." Bucky replied. "I don't feel protective over myself though I'm…" Steve waited patiently and watched as his friend awkwardly shifted in place. "I've felt really protective over Aj."

Steve shook his head, "That's not really new though."

"No, but it's never been like this before. It's almost suffocating." Bucky sighed. "It's the kind of protectiveness that Aj would hate to have around her. The smothering kind."

"Right." Steve mulled this over. "Maybe it has to do with Frank? I'm glad she has her uncle in her life again, but he's kind of…" He tried to think of a less insulting word, "…murderous?"

Bucky chuckled, "Maybe." He suddenly shook his head and motioned back to the door. "Come on, let's get back to dinner. Tonight is about the twins. Not me or my broken ass brain."

"Your brain isn't broken." Steve scoffed.

"Well, it sure as hell ain't normal anymore." Bucky replied.

The two soldiers moved to head back inside for the dinner. Steve felt a little better about the talk. He'd always be worried about his friend, but it would be a lie if he said he didn't like the sound of Bucky being in the field with him again as part of a team.

After dinner, the Avengers had left for their mission, and the rest of us dispersed throughout the Compound. Bucky was in the training gym working out, the twins were somewhere just hanging out, and I was in the living space watching a kids' cartoon with Star. That's where I was, sitting on the comfortable couch next to a kid who still wouldn't talk to me, when an alarm suddenly rang overhead.

It occurred to me then that this was the first time I was ever hearing this alarm at the Compound. I knew the 'Danger, Danger, Intruders' alarm was a working thing, but it took a moment for the sound to fully register in my brain. The moment it did though, panic overwhelmed me. I scooped up the silent Star into my arms, her eyes wide in confusion, and began to make my way towards the closest panic room while mumbling curses under my breath.

A couple hours had passed since the Avengers left which meant even if they turned around now it would take time before they got here. Flashbacks of Vincent flooded my head in a distracting manner. All I could think about was him shooting Sal. Which of my left behind friends would get shot this time? Fear briefly seized me, and my feet stuck to the ground. Oh God, oh God, oh God. Bucky was at the Compound. He was probably still in the other building in the main training gym. The twins were at the Compound still too. The twins, oh God, what if Pietro wasn't quick enough to step out of the path of a bullet this time? What if Wanda—

A warm hand pressed against my cheek snapping me back into the moment. I glanced at the girl in my arms and took in a shaky breath. Star's hypnotizing, golden eyes bore into mine as her small features remained calm. I nodded once, "Right. Focus."

Shaking off the nerves that initially wrecked me, I moved back onto task. There was a panic room nestled somewhere on every single floor. Tony wasn't fucking around when it came to safety during an attack. The one on the same floor as the shared space was past the dorms and hidden behind a bookshelf in one of the smaller recreation rooms. When I reached the shelf, I called out, "FRIDAY, open." Only the alarm could be heard. "FRIDAY?" Still no answer. "Fuck."

I set Star down and began to tug on books trying to remember which one would activate the keypad. A yellow book on the bottom shelf did it and the wall next to the shelf partially slid up so I could set my hand on it. I felt the warmth of the scanner and seconds later the bookshelf itself hissed and slid into the floor to reveal an entrance into a small, metal room. It had supplies to survive in the corner by a small cot. Tony had built them to be sustainable for long periods of time.

"Okay, honey." I whispered and knelt down. "I need you to stay here while I find the others." Pietro hadn't zoomed to me yet and that scared the shit out of me. "Do you know how to work the door on the inside?" Star nodded once. "Good. Do not let anyone, except us, in, okay?"

Star hesitated for a second and I had to nudge her into the room. I gave her what I hoped was a reassuring smile before letting the door shut and the bookshelf rise back up to hide it. I took a few more seconds to panic before steeling myself and whipping around to find the others. As I ran back to the shared space, I brought out my phone to call one of the twins. I was equally worried about Bucky, but he was a grown man capable of handling himself. The twins were capable too, I had seen them firsthand in the gym, but it didn't stop my worry. Mentally, I still classified them as kids.

The plan had been to run across the bridge to see if they were over by Bucky, but my feet came to a screeching halt when a stranger stepped into my path. He was a bit older, late forties maybe, with cold, steel blue eyes that were currently narrowed at me. What was really throwing me off was the metal helmet he wore over his brown hair, the front of which opened enough to frame his eyes and the center of his face, and a billowing dark maroon cape and matching uniform. I slid my phone back into my pocket.

"What the actual fuck?" I breathed under my breath.

"So, you're the girl everyone is talking about." The man hummed. He stepped forward and I took a defensive step back. Something about his features looked vaguely familiar to me. "Aimee, right?"

"Aj." I corrected. "Who the hell are you and how'd you get in?"

He motioned behind him, "Front door."

"I suggest you take the same way out now," I activated my gloves. Any nerves I had turned to grit as I mentally prepared myself for a fight. "If you don't then I'm sending your ass out the window."

The man let a slow smile overtake his face like he was amused, "I'm not here for you, girl. Tell me where the Maximoffs are, and I'll leave you be." My eyes widened in worry. I had hoped this was just some goofy looking 'X-Men' guy or HYDRA agent after me. I could deal with the intruder being after me. The fact that he wanted the twins put ice in my veins. Without another second of hesitation, I lunged forward to fight. The man chuckled and raised his hand, "I wouldn't."

My hands suddenly were yanked up into the air high enough that my feet left the floor. I was now dangling in the air by some sort of invisible force. The man's smirk grew, and he began to slowly curl his fingers down. I could feel the gloves begin to crush around my hands. I let out a cry of pain as the metal cut into my skin as cracks, of what I hoped was metal and not my bones, could be heard.

The pain made one thing clear though. I recognized this guy from grainy videos in a specific file that Daisy had hacked out for us all. With clenched teeth, I spat out his name, "Magneto."

"My reputation proceeds me then." He stopped moving his fingers and the crushing pain momentarily stopped. He drew his hand toward himself, and I drifted through the air toward him until we were face to face. Magneto chuckled, "If you knew what I knew about your father you'd find this amusing as I do."

"Quick tip," I quickly lifted my body enough to curl my legs into myself then kicked him in the chest with both feet as hard as I could. I could hear the air leave him as I fell to the ground out of his magnetic grasp, "Mentioning my dad only pisses me off more."

I scrambled up and tried to claw the gauntlets off me using the emergency release that Tony had built into them, but the earlier crushing had broken it enough that I couldn't pull the latch. My left hand suddenly thrust toward me, slamming me right in the mouth and sending me sprawling back. As the familiar metallic taste of blood filled my mouth, my hands were yanked back up into the air until I was dangling again.

Magneto shot me a glare. I sneered at him then spat a wad of blood out in his direction, "Did you just make me hit myself?" I could feel warm blood drip from my nose as well. "Dick move."

"I'll ask one more time." Magento growled. He stayed far enough away that I couldn't reach him with a kick. "Where the hell are the Maximoffs?"

"Go to hell."

Magneto began to crush my hands again, and a cry of pain slipped from my lips. My pain and his torture was interrupted as a blur of color flew past us, knocking him in the shoulder. It wasn't enough to make him drop me, but when I glanced over my shoulder I saw Pietro standing there with wide eyes. Wanda had been in his arms, but he carefully set her down.

"No!" I barked. "Take your sister and run! Now!"

"Uncle Eric?" Wanda breathed.

I blinked in confusion and glanced back at Magneto who looked less murderous and more melancholic. His features were drawn in a bittersweet sadness with a small, sad smile. I looked back at the twins who looked confused, "Uncle?"

"I'm afraid this is a family matter." Magento said. Before I could question him, I felt my hands slam together, the metal crushing into one another badly enough to lock my fingers in and prevent me from separating them. Then I was flying through the air until my body slammed into the wall. I hadn't ever taken notice that some of the walls around us had a metal framework. Not until a metal controlling mutant threw me into one of the walls and had the metal break off the wall to wrap tightly around me so I was plastered against it. Magento set his hand down then, stepping toward the twins, and my entire body sagged forward. Unfortunately, the metal bars he had tangled me in kept me unmoving. My hands were still held above my head, one bar around my wrists, while a few others held me up so my shoulders weren't taking the brunt of the weight. How kind of him.

Magento spoke first in Sokovian. His voice soft and warm. Wanda replied in her own language, tone wary, while Pietro took a step forward to half stand in front of his sister. They threw clipped sentences back and forth before it turned into an argument. I let my eyes bounce back and forth between them uselessly. If I was going to be a forced spectator they could at least speak english.

"Aj, are you alright?" Pietro suddenly asked.

All eyes snapped to me. I nodded, "Fine. Don't worry about me. You need to take your sister and go—"

Magneto interrupted me in Sokovian, and the argument restarted. I clenched my jaw in frustration. Slowly, I watched as the argument faded into an echoing sadness. Wanda's eyes began to tear up and I nervously glanced between them again. I didn't like how this was going. Wanda motioned to me, still speaking, and Magento shook his head once firmly.

Finally, the twins turned to me, "We have to go, Aj."

"No, no, no." I struggled against the metal. "Wanda—"

"We'll be safe, I promise." Wanda replied. "But we need to do this."

"Guys—"

"We will return." Pietro nodded once.

I shot a glare to Magento who was smiling now, "You son of a bitch! What did you tell them!?" I continued to struggle. "Don't leave with him. Guys!" The twins walked off with. Both shot me worried looks over their shoulder before all three disappeared out of sight. "Fuck!"

My phone was buzzing in my back pocket not that I had any means of answering. I tried to pry my hands apart from one another. That was step one. When I got them untangled, then maybe if the repulsor still worked I could…blast metal with a pulse? The plan probably had no sort of chance of working, but it was all I had right now. I struggled for about five minutes or so when the sound of footsteps made me peek down the hall to see a familiar face marching toward me.

"Oh, thank God." I sighed and let my body sag against the wall in relief. Bucky was walking toward me at a steady pace. "We gotta hurry. Magento took the twins. Well, they left with him, but I don't think they know—" It was only then that I noticed Bucky had no sort of urgence to his movements and he didn't just walk toward me. He stalked toward me, and as he got closer I realized the shade of gray in his eyes was much colder than the one I loved, "Oh no. Buck—"

He lunged forward, closing the last bit of space before I could say his name, and clasped his right hand tightly against my mouth. Bucky stood too close. Part of his body pressed against mine as his fingers and thumb dug into the hollows of my cheeks. His gaze was cold, but curious. I didn't think this was the Soldier.

This was Yakov.

"He is asleep. Do not say his name." Yakov said gruffly. His voice came out more gruff and hoarse than Bucky's usual tone was. He reached forward his metal hand and grabbed the edge of the loose flannel I had been wearing over my t-shirt and jeans. Yakov tugged on it hard, and it one swift movement the front of it ripped from the shoulder seam all the way down. He balled it up and before I could register the movement he ripped his right hand off my mouth.

"Bu—" I tried to get out the name, but Yakov shoved the shirt into my mouth before placing his hand over my mouth again so I couldn't spit the cloth out. This time his metal hand drifted down, and I watched as he began to undo the leather belt around his jeans. With muffled cries, that he ignored, I tried to struggle against the wall. I was heaving with panicked breaths as I tried to remind myself that this was Bucky. Well, technically this was Yakov, but deep-down Bucky was still there.

Bucky was still there, and Bucky would never do anything to hurt me ever.

He'd never.

He couldn't.

Yakov lifted the leather belt so it went around the back of my head and with quick movements he moved his right hand so he could tighten the belt around my face. The leather portion was pressed against my mouth, pushing into my busted lip painfully, and when Yakov was content with his work he let his hands drop and just stared at me. I tried to talk around the makeshift gag again, but the muffled noises weren't doing anything to wake up Bucky. Yakov lifted his left hand and carefully set the cold fingers against my cheek. He traced it lightly before they traveled down to my nose where I could still feel some blood from where my glove had hit.

He softly wiped away the blood then nodded, "We must go." I let out another confused cry as Yakov began to yank away the metal bars like they were made of cardboard. I suddenly fell forward, but he caught me over his shoulder and began to walk away. I tried to kick my knees into his chest, but he used his left arm to lock my thighs flush against him so I had no sort of momentum. I resorted to hitting his back with the clump of metal I called my hands, but Yakov didn't even flinch.

This wasn't happening. I was not being kidnapped by Yakov right now. Tonight, was supposed to be a relaxing night in as we worriedly waited for our friends to come home. Why the fuck did everything always go so wrong?

I screamed against the gag as loudly as I could until I could feel my throat start to ache at the force. The scream turned to a yelp when I was thrown off his shoulder landing shakily onto my feet. Yakov's hands tightened around my arms, and he pulled me tight against his chest so I had to physically look up to meet his gaze. I knew the action was to prevent me from kicking or kneeing him though. My legs had no space to wind back and his own were pressed against the side of my calves which didn't help.

Yakov barked something at me in Russian. I shook my head and he grunted, "Stop now or I will render you unconscious. I can protect you in either state." I blinked in surprise at his words. Wait. Protect? I shook my head and tried to ask me to remove the gag in the most leveled voice I could. Yakov narrowed his eyes at me, "You want to speak." I nodded. He shook his head, "You will wake him."

"Mmm mmm mmm." I shook my head desperately.

Yakov just stared again until he grunted and bent over to throw me over his shoulder again, "No." I struggled and screamed again in annoyance. "Your voice will wake him. I cannot risk that."

I stopped beating his back with my hunk of metal and shifted to try and bring it to my mouth and pull down on the gag. Magento had truly made a mess of it though and I couldn't even unbury a finger to try and grip the belt with. Yakov bounced me once on his shoulder, to get me to stop, but I didn't relent. Just like my plan against the wall, the chances of this working were slim, but I was nothing if not persistent.

Yakov managed to get us all the way across to the other building, I had a feeling he was going for a car or quinjet, but we were only a little way into the hanger when something solid and hard slammed into us. Yakov let out a grunt of pain as we both went sprawling. My body hit the floor and I rolled a couple feet away.

When I managed to sit up, my eyes landed on Thor. Thor. Holy shit. Thor's face was drawn in a murderous glare as he threw a punch that hit Yakov right in the face. Oh God, the god thought I was in danger. Thor thought I was in the process of being kidnapped. Again. Yakov tackled Thor to the ground, and they wrestled against one another. Getting in between that bloodbath was a death sentence. I slammed my hand into the ground a couple times. Each time made my hands ache in pain, but finally I managed to break the clump of metal apart and get control of a few fingers. I hooked them around the belt and forced it away from my mouth.

I spat out the shirt and yelled, "Bucky!" Yakov froze mid-fight and glanced over his shoulder at me. I watched as he blinked a few times, his eyes growing more familiar with each blink, but Thor threw another punch sending him flying. "Thor, no! Stop!" I ran forward and threw myself over Bucky's body with my arms outstretched toward Thor as Bucky struggled to rise. "He's a friend!"

"He was taking you." Thor replied.

"No, it's a—a misunderstanding." I said quickly and focused back on the man on the floor. "Bucky? Bucky, can you hear me?" Bucky shook his head, jaw clenched, and his left hand opened and shut robotically like he was physically trying to stay in place. I didn't have my hands to bring him comfort, so I lowered my face by his. My lips by his ear, "James Buchanan Barnes, come back. Please come back to me."

His body briefly stiffened before he let out a breath releasing all the built-up tension with it. Bucky pushed himself up and turned to face me. He sucked in an exhausted breath then shook his head, "Aj? What…" He shook his head again, his eyes drifted down to my lips still smeared with blood. His shaking right hand grasped the side of my face in fear, "God, did I—?"

"No. You didn't hurt me. I swear." I reassured him. Relieved to have him back, I threw my arms around his shoulders in a hug. Bucky just held me tightly against his chest. He rested his head on my shoulder and I held him up as he slumped against me in exhaustion. While holding him, I lifted my gaze to meet Thor's.

Thor still looked tense and there was a seriousness in his eyes that worried me. Before I could call out to him, he spoke, "Where is the Asgardian girl?"

"Star?" I asked. "She's safe."

"You know her location?" Thor's eyes snapped back to me. I held his gaze curiously before I watched him force the tension off of himself. Thor forced a smile at me and chuckled. "I'm sorry about your friend. I thought you were in danger."

"Right." I nodded. "We need to call the others." I pulled back so I could meet Bucky's worried gaze. I shook my head, "The twins are gone."