Chapter 10 – Captivity

There's a pounding in his head that is similar to the beat on one of Tony's tracks that usually plays in the workshop.

Unfortunately, this is definitely not from music. If the cold, hard surface he's laying on is anything to go by.

'Bucky?' the small voice forces him to open his eyes.

'Wanda? That you?' his tongue feels too big in his mouth and the words are a little slurred but he thinks they're intelligible.

'Yeah. You alright? You've been out a bit longer than me. I was starting to worry you wouldn't wake up.' It sounds like there's tears in her voice.

He rolls over, eyes adjusting to the dim light and he's finally able to see her. They're each in a cell, with a row of old-fashioned iron bars forming the wall between each of them; Wanda's leaning against the bars that separate them, her hair is falling lank around her face and there are dark circles under her eyes. Apart from looking tired she seems to be unharmed. 'Hey, you know me, takes more than some knockout gas to keep me quiet for long.'

She attempts to smile, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes.

'How long you been awake?' he asks her, forcing himself to a seating position and leaning back against the stone wall that forms the back wall of their cells. He shuffles along towards her as she answers.

'I'm not sure. It's felt like days, but it could have just been an hour or two. I…I can't use my magic,' she bites her bottom lip and looks around her cell. For the first time since waking up Bucky sees the fear on her face. 'I tried when I first woke up to see if I could get us out but I can't do anything. I don't know what's happened…'

'Hey,' he's finally reached her and he takes her shaking hand in his, holding it between his flesh and metal hand, 'don't start panicking yet, Wanda. It could just be a side effect from the knockout gas. Maybe it just needs a little more time to get out your system before you can use it again?'

Wanda nods, but he's certain she's not completely convinced.

'What about my thoughts?' he tries something else to try and distract her. 'Can you read me at all?'

Wanda frowns and concentrates. Relief washes over her face and she sags against the bars. 'Yes,' she breathes, 'yes I can.'

Bucky opens his mouth to add something when he hears it. His heart nearly stops.

-Bucky?-

'Is that?' she whispers.

Bucky grins at her. -Loki? Please tell me Wanda and I aren't sharing a hallucination.-

-Oh, thank the Norns! I scarcely dared hope when I thought I felt you awaken. Did you say Wanda is with you?-

-Yeah, we're in cells next to each other. She's able to hear you.-

-Will you allow me through the link so I can hear her as well?-

-Of course- he can't help the smile as he feels the trickster's presence grow stronger in his mind.

-Greetings, little witch- Loki says.

Wanda gives a small laugh. 'Hello, Loki. It's good to hear your voice.'

-I'm having Strange take us back to the others. I imagine you'll want to speak to everyone. We've been at Kamar-Taj seeing if we could find a way to track you through our mental link. Now that you are conscious I hope we shall have more luck.-

-How long have we been missing?-

There's a brief pause. Then Loki replies. -Two days. We've not been able to find any traces of where HYDRA have taken you. Are there any clues to be gathered from your cells?-

-Nothing, I'm afraid.-

'I can't use my magic,' Wanda adds, 'in case that's of any use?'

Bucky feels Loki's surprise and it does nothing to reassure him. The trickster has so many thoughts in quick succession to try and work out the cause that Bucky can barely keep up. -Will you try and cast for me?- he eventually asks her.

-How do you think that fast?- Bucky grumbles, earning himself a chuckle from both Loki and Wanda.

'Alright, I'll give it a go.' She closes her eyes, frowning in concentration for a few moments. Eventually she lets out a frustrated sigh. 'Nothing.'

-On the walls, near the ceiling- Loki directs Bucky's gaze upwards where he can just make out a fading shape. -Someone has cast runes here. Only the magic user who cast those runes can use magic here.-

'They have a magic user?' she asks.

-It would appear so- Loki's tone is grim. -A moment. We've arrived with the rest of the team. Let me update them and then I'll open up the link so you can see and speak with them.-

'Hey,' he squeezes Wanda's hand again, 'it's alright. Even if they do have another magic user, it just means we've got to be smarter than them rather than stronger than them.'

'But they know more about magic than I do if they're casting runes,' she counters.

'Just because they've got book smarts doesn't mean they're smarter than us.'

-Tony says he would disagree in your case- Loki chuckles, making Wanda laugh properly. -Let me bring you through so you can see everyone.-

And suddenly Bucky is in a room, decorated in the Wakandan style, with the faces of their team surrounding him.

'How many times am I going to have to come and save your punk ass then Buck?' Steve asks, his strained smile betraying how difficult he's finding making the joke. It reminds Bucky of when he left to go to war, back before the serum when they'd gone to the Expo.

-You've got a lot of catching up to do from all the trash cans I pulled you out of as kids- he shoots back, with Loki relaying the message. The whole team laughs and a little more of the tension leaves everyone.

'How you holding up?' Sam asks. 'Both of you?'

'We're alright,' Wanda reassures them, 'we've not seen anyone since waking up. The only thing we've got to go on are the runes stopping me from casting any spells.'

'But you're able to keep your mind reading abilities which is interesting,' Strange muses. 'Keep it secret, and see if you can read any information on where you are from the guards when they do visit.'

'Will do,' she nods.

-Looks like we're in the dungeon of a medieval castle if I'm honest. I'm waiting for the guy in the executioner's mask to turn up- Bucky says, looking around their cells. He finds he can switch views between what he can see and what Loki sees, similar to moving his head to look left and right.

-I'm not repeating that last sentence, thank you- he can feel Loki's glare through the link, and frowns at Wanda's giggle.

'Could be in a theme park,' Wade suggests. 'What? They could!' He adds at everyone's questioning looks.

-Got to love Wade's useless contributions to conversations- he sighs.

'I resent that, Snowflake!'

-And you had to tell him that didn't you?-

-Of course- Loki smirks.

'Can we return to the conversation with everyone else while we have the opportunity please, lovebirds?' Wanda raises an eyebrow at him.

'Ok I want to know whatever it was that one of them said to make Loki turn bright red,' Clint laughs.

Bucky's just glad that he can feel Loki's as flustered as he is. -What have you managed to find from your end?- he decides to steer the conversation back.

The team fill them in, but it's not encouraging.

'We may have more positive news next time we speak,' Strange reassures them, 'during this conversation Wong has been tracing the mystical energy of the link and we are hoping now that Bucky is conscious, we will be able to trace it easier.'

'The trail is very faint. They are certainly not in the city. I'd be surprised if they are even in the country,' the other sorcerer adds.

'I'm not sure that's encouraging,' Wanda mutters.

'I'm having FRIDAY run diagnostics on EDITH, it could be Beck used her to send information to HYDRA. In which case we'll have a trail to follow,' Tony adds, 'and Shuri and I are going through all the footage of Peter's encounters with him to see if there's anything there that can help.'

'Doctor Strange is going to help me go through Venom's memories,' Peter's voice is quiet, but determined, 'he was taken by HYDRA so maybe he learnt something when they had him.'

'Peter, no,' Wanda speaks up. 'You can't.'

'We've already had this discussion with him, Wanda,' Steve sighs, 'there's no changing his mind.'

'More stubborn than, Tony, and I didn't think that was possible,' Natasha mutters.

'Peter,' Wanda's voice is filled with tears and Bucky squeezes her hand again, 'I saw the nightmares they gave you. Please, don't do this.'

Peter's face sets into a frown, and Bucky is struck by the new hardness to the boy. Something has happened with Beck that he hasn't had time to process.

-Loki, talk to him- he tells the trickster, -he won't want to burden anyone.-

-We've tried- he can feel the god's worry through the link, -but he won't even open up to Wade or Tony.-

'It's one of the few potential leads we have,' the teenager's tone is firm, 'and if it can get you back I'm doing it.'

'But-'

Bucky cuts off Wanda's response. -I know you're strong enough to do it, Pete. Just wish there was another way that wasn't going to hurt you.-

Peter just nods. Before anyone can say anything else Bucky hears the sound of people approaching.

-We've got incoming- he tells Loki. -Looks like we're going to have to cut this meeting short. Just… pass one more message on to Steve?-

-Of course.-

-Stevie? I'm holding you to the promise you made me in Norway.-

He can see Steve's face pale, and his jaw goes rigid. 'Buck I'm not-'

-Goddammit Steve you promised me, don't you dare back out now because you think you might actually have to see it through.-

'Bucky…' Steve's voice is pleading and it damn near breaks his heart.

-You promised me, Steve. I need you to keep it. End of the line.-

'Alright,' he grits out, and Bucky wishes he could give him a hug.

'Bucky they're nearly here,' Wanda's whispers, voice scared.

'Wanda? Remember what you told me before you left,' Tony sends one last message before Bucky has to break the part of the link that enables him to see through Loki's eyes.

'We're together, Wanda,' Bucky reassures her, 'no matter how hard they try it won't be easy to break us because we're here together.'

'I won't be able to heal you if they try to put the conditioning back though,' she whispers, tears falling down her face. 'I'm useless to you.'

-The link will enable me to help protect Bucky if they try- Loki's voice reassures them.

'You're not useless to me,' he tells her, 'I never had a friend to come back to before, you have no idea how much that's going to help when I'm in there. I've got you to lean on, Wanda, even when you're not there next to me.'

She smiles then and nods, squeezing his hand back. 'Remind me to get Nat to teach me more self-defence when we get back.'

'Kid, I'll teach you when we get back,' he smiles. Then the black suited guards, with HYDRA's sigil on their shoulders, appear at the door to his cage.

'Nice of you to return to us, Winter Soldier,' one of them taunts him as they open the door to his cell, 'we've got someone who very much wants to see you again.'

'No trouble,' the second one says, brandishing a gun and pointing it in Wanda's direction, 'little witch here doesn't have her magic so can't stop this bullet. You give us any trouble and her pretty little brains will be decorating the wall.'

Bucky shoots Wanda a warning look. 'No trouble from me, fellas,' he says, holding up his hands and walking slowly up to them. 'Now, which way we going?'

As he follows them up the corridor he gives Wanda a reassuring smile. -No trouble yet anyway, - he says to Loki, -not until I know how to get out of here with Wanda.-

-I'm with you, Bucky,- comes the reassuring response. -Always.-


A/N: And that's your double update folks! Hope you enjoyed it, please do let me know what you think about the story so far and where it's going.

Love always,

L x

As always here's your sneak peek:

'Woah. Hold on a second there, kid,' Tony smiles at him. 'Before we talk about that I want to talk about Beck.'

'Alright?' Peter can feel his stomach sinking. He knows he messed up badly with Beck, and he's been hoping to put off this conversation as long as possible.

'Now there was a hell of a lot of shit that we'll discuss when we've got Wanda and Bucky back, but there's one thing I'm really disappointed in, Peter, and I feel like we need to talk about it right now.'

'Oh god, I'm so sorry,' he starts babbling, 'I didn't mean to give away EDITH I just didn't know what to do and I was feeling-'

'It's not about EDITH, Pete.'