Now that things are seemingly normal around these parts (and by "These parts", I mean the site), let's keep this show on the road! Bucky and Wanda just left the scene, but after what just happened with the officer/acolyte, the danger is far from gone, so their escape is about to get a bit bumpy. Let's get into the action, folks!
Enjoy the reading!
SCARLET WINTER
Chapter 4: Second Verse, just like the First
Bucky, Wanda and Anna Molly managed to evade capture from one of the acolytes, but both Avengers know that the danger is far from over, and for that, they must stay sharp in site of being on the run.
With the help of diner owner Pops and his wife Henrietta, or Henry as she is also known, the group managed to leave the site aboard their trailer. As Pops drives away, Anna sits on the bed while Wanda looks out the window and Bucky sits on the floor working on his spare arm, making some light adjustments before attaching it.
"Does it hurt when you put it on?" Anna asks out of curiosity, looking at him as he works.
"Stings a bit, but after years of damages and replacements, I got used to it" Bucky replies without getting his eyes off the work.
"You know? I'll probably sound very dumb but…I never thought I'd be talking to the Winter Soldier" Anna starts talking to him, on the risk of sounding a bit like a fangirl "But I'm very thankful that it was you who answered the call, I mean, who doesn't know about you? Captain America's original sidekick turned Special Ops agent" she talks to him, but Bucky frowns a bit when he hears that phrase since he knows is a lie, forcing him to remember that before being pardoned he was an assassin.
"Sounds like you have a fan" Wanda tries to joke, attempting to lighten the mood.
"Well, I know about you too" Anna comments to Wanda "You're the Scarlet Witch, one of the top Avengers, you fought alongside the great ones" she explains, although Wanda hides a hint of sadness in her smile, knowing that she skipped the most relevant part of her history with the Avengers: the moment when she almost destroyed them.
"Seems that she is not only a fan of mine" Bucky comments about Anna "How'd you know about us?" he asks her, catching her attention.
"I read on the internet" Anna replies, shrugging her shoulders, causing Bucky and Wanda look at each other with a gesture that says 'Is she for real?'
Before the conversation could go any longer, Bucky finishes the touches on his arm and attaches it to his shoulder, grunting a bit as he feels the sting once the bio-electric interface connects, taking a deep breath while he starts to wiggle his fingers in order to gain control of the arm.
"We're here!" the voice of Pops is heard on the other side, just as the trio slightly shuffles in the trailer due to the sudden halt caused by the abrupt braking.
The group steps out of the trailer, Anna being the first with Wanda behind her and Bucky leaving last. All three catch a glimpse of their new location, a small cabin-like house in a nearby trailer park, fitting for a trailer owner, although not a common scene in an upper state.
"Please, walk in" Henry invites the group to step in, walking slowly inside to check the place, instantly getting the humble vibe from the couple. A typical decoration, albeit with a couple of American flags on the walls, which is something that catches Bucky's eye "Sorry for the inconvenience, but we're not accustomed to have this many house guests" she apologizes to the group "Especially given this poor girl's circumstances" she recalls Anna's situation, showing genuine concern.
"Thank you for the hospitality and for your help" Wanda kindly replies "And I apologize for the damage on your diner"
"It's alright, the insurance will cover it and we can rebuild" Henry smiles in reply "Is it true that you are Avengers?" she asks out of curiosity, to which Wanda nods in response.
"Yes, I am Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch" Wanda kindly introduces herself, while Bucky remains silent, still feeling distrustful of the situation.
"Pssst, aren't you gonna introduce yourself?" Anna whispers to Bucky, who looks back at her with a glare
"In case you didn't know, a cop tried to kill you…how can we be sure if anyone here can be trusted?" he asks her, guiding himself by his instinct due to the years of experience in spywork, Knowing that no one can be trusted until there is evidence of the contrary.
"You really think that two senior citizens could try to kill us?" Anna asks, sounding skeptical
"You'd be surprised" Bucky replies but Anna chooses to ignore him.
"Well, this guy right here is the one and only Winter Soldier, also known as Bucky, Cap's old sidekick" Anna forces the introduction, causing Bucky to glare at her and even Wanda tries to stifle a laugh after she sees Bucky's reaction.
"Wait…" the voice of Pops is heard until he steps out of his room "Bucky? Bucky Barnes?" the old man asks, sounding legitimately surprised at the sight of Bucky. He looks confused, turning his sight to Anna and Wanda who both shrug their shoulders also wondering what is going on, that is until Pops return holding a portrait in his hands.
"Sir?" Bucky asks Pops in confusion, but then Pops gives him the portrait, surprising Bucky a bit when he looks at it. The portrait is a group of ten soldiers, all in their gear, alongside Captain America and a teenage Bucky, all posing before marching into their assignment "How did you…?"
"That man standing right next to Cap is my grandfather" Pops replies, thus revealing the connection "You guys saved his life back then" he explains to him in few words, but more than necessary.
"I remember…" Bucky whispers "We were targeting a Nazi post in Monte Cassino; a group of us were targeting an experimental plane, one that became the precursor to Zemo's drone plane" he explains the mission, even recalling the infamous drone plane that exploded and sent both Rogers and himself to the cold waters, making the world believe they died "They served great and helped us mark a big win that night" he recalls, looking back at Pops.
"My grandfather, and my father as well, always believed in helping others, you boys inspired him to do that" Pops comments to Bucky, gently putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Is that why you helped that young girl?" Bucky asks him, gesturing with his head towards Anna, to which Pops nods in response.
"That girl came asking for help, Henry and I gave it to her, because that's what's right" Pops replies, giving Bucky a sign of relief, the sign he needed to know he can be trusted.
"Now we can help as well" Bucky replies with confidence, turning back to Wanda and Anna "We got this covered, we'll try to lay low for a while" he tells them, giving them a much needed relief. With that, the group started to relax and take their breaths, but deep down, Bucky and Wanda remain sharp, aware that this threat is far from over and they still need to find some answers.
MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE DINER
The people have abandoned the wreckage, but the police was already hard on the case, investigating what transpired on the location until a patrol arrives with two officers stepping out of the car.
"You can feel it in the air" the male officer speaks first "Strong magic".
"Yes, very strong magic" the female officer is the one who speaks now "This could complicate things" she adds, but her partner remains calm.
"The Grand Master's orders are clear, and we have power to fight them" the male officer replies, walking over the debris until he finds a clue, one of the menu cardboards lying on the floor, revealing the name of the diner "Pops and Henry's…I know them, they were Brady's friends"
"Then he must know where they live" the female officer comments "And lucky for us, his patrol car is intact" she looks at Brady's car, knowing that his computer's database must include the information about the diner and its owners.
"Find them, for the Grand Master's patience must be wearing thin, given the circumstances" the male officer tells her, eager to find them and avoid the Grand Master's punishment, just like Brady had before him.
Once the female officer made her search, she receives the results on the screen, the names and the address of Pops, the owner of the diner, and with that they got a location.
"Done" the female officer calls out her partner "I got their address, I'll go ahead and contact you if anything happens" she tells him, to which he nods in response.
"Go ahead, I'll follow you" the male officer replies, allowing her to take Brady's patrol car while he goes back to his own car, waiting for his partner to move and follow her in a prudent distance, saving himself as a back-up once they discover who are they dealing with and be prepared.
HOURS LATER, BACK WITH THE GROUP
With the hours passing by, the group started to relax and acclimate, Anna helps Henry with details in the houses while Bucky helps Pops with the truck's engine, tuning it up for the road they have ahead, since they are all aware that staying put is not an option.
"I know a friend who can help you guys, you'll have to go all the way up to Michigan but is worth it" Pops explains to Bucky his idea, something that Bucky agrees since they do need to stay on the move.
"That can help, if anything I can still contact some of my allies" Bucky tells Pops "And that includes Captain Rogers"
"You think he can help? I mean, I've been hearing a lot of the news about crazy stuff that happened to him, not to mention all the crazy things he must be dealing with the Avengers" Pops scratches the back of his head asking that question, but Bucky dismisses his concerns, smiling kindly at him.
"It's alright, he always finds the way to help, especially when it comes to people close to our comrades in arms" Bucky replies, but before he could keep the conversation going, the sound of his phone alerts him of an incoming call "Sorry, I have to take this" he excuses himself from Pops and steps away to pick up the call "Hey Sharon".
"Are you OK Buck?" Sharon voice sounds concerned, and with good reason due to what transpired "There was an explosion where you're located, even one of the locals gave a description of a guy in one arm, so I suppose that things got complicated" she explains through the phone call.
"Yes, I'm OK Sharon" Bucky replies "Remember the girl I'm helping escape this strange unknown magic cult? Turns out those people are chasing her, we bumped into one of them, but we escaped" he further explains the situation "We're being helped by locals, they're clear, the father of one of them served with Steve and I in the battleground"
"A Comrade in Arms' descendant? You got lucky Buck" Sharon comments.
"Also, we got help from Wanda Maximoff" Bucky reveals to Sharon, who gasps in reaction.
"Scarlet Witch's with you? This sounds serious" Sharon comments more to herself than for the phone call "Anything I can do to help?"
"We'll try to move to Michigan, there's a friend of a friend who could help, but I do need a favor, I need you to keep any local authorities away from this case" Bucky tells her with a serious tone "The guy who attacked us was a police officer, which means that this cult has people embedded everywhere" he reveals to Sharon the last detail of what transpired.
"I'll try on my end Buck, but you two should stay sharp, although I don't need to say it since I know you'll do it anyway" Sharon comments "Be careful" she adds, concluding the phone call.
"I will, take care Sharon, and thanks for the assist" Bucky ends the call and hangs up, taking a deep breath to relax and walk back to the house, finding Wanda sitting in a bench outside, meditating. He looks at her with curiosity, since he also has been taking into meditation to help him cope with the lingering memories of his actions under the control of the Soviets.
"I know you're standing there" Wanda speaks, startling Bucky a little bit.
"Oh, sorry, I'm sorry" Bucky replies, feeling a little embarrassed "I didn't mean to pry, I just felt curious about what you're meditating" he tells her, yet Wanda smiles and laughs a little.
"Don't worry, meditation helps me relax after a tense moment, just like this one" Wanda replies, opening her eyes to look at Bucky "Have you tried meditation?" she asks him out of curiosity, to which Bucky nods in response.
"I've been practicing it for a while" Bucky replies "It's been very helpful" he adds, sparking greater curiosity from Wanda on how someone like the Winter Soldier could approach meditation "This job can be very…" he tries to strike a conversation, but they are suddenly interrupted by the chimes of the doorbell. They both look at each other with curiosity, but Bucky signals Wanda to go help Anna.
Henry is the one who walks to the door to check who it is, seeing the female officer right in the door, showing an amicable look on her face.
"Hi, I'm Officer Harlan from the Sheriff's office, is this the house of Paul and Henrietta Walton?" the female officer asks her.
"Yes, I'm Henrietta, Paul Junior is my husband, may we help you with something officer?" Henry asks the officer.
"We're investigating an explosion that occurred a few hours ago at your diner, were you present at the location?" the officer asks her, but Henry remains calm upon her, shaking her head in denial.
"No ma'am, my husband stayed here fixing his truck so accompanied him doing some chores" Henry replies to her.
"I understand ma'am" the officer replies "The thing is that the explosion also took the life of a fellow officer, Officer Danny Brady, and we were told that he was a frequent customer of your diner" Officer Harlan explains to her, but Henry feigns surprise upon the news.
"Oh Lord, Officer Brady died? Oh my goodness, it's so sad to hear it, he was such a good client, always ordering and always paying good tips" Henry tries to fool the officer, yet she remains serious as she looks at her.
"We're searching for the culprit, we have the suspicion that is a teenage woman with black hair, around 16-18 years of age" Officer Harlan explains to Henry.
"I haven't seen someone like her, but if I do, I'll let you know" Henry replies, to which Officer Harlan nods her head.
"Thank you for your cooperation ma'am, we'd appreciate any kind of information you could provide us, have a nice day" Officer Harlan bids her farewell and right then Henry shuts the door, releasing a long sigh.
"Is she gone?" Anna steps out after she heard the door closing, but Henry nervously signals her to step back since she has not left entirely, and right then, an energy beam suddenly bursts through the door, piercing Henry's chest to the shock of Anna, Bucky and Wanda "HENRY!" Anna screams, looking a Henry's body falling to the floor and then the door explodes, revealing Officer Harlan now enveloped in a red energy aura, with her hands burning and her eyes glowing.
"That old lady was a terrible actress" Officer Harlan speaks now in an ominous tone, looking directly at Anna "Your running ends now" she warns her, but the reply she gets is a burst of energy shot from the hands of the Scarlet Witch.
"Get Anna out of here, now!" Wanda tells Bucky, who quickly grabs Anna's arm to pull her away and head to the garage where Pops is closing the trunk of his truck.
"POPS! WE GOTTA GO NOW!" Bucky yells, catching his attention and prompting Pops to prepare to leave, but suddenly another burst of red energy appears, this time striking Pops to the point of throwing him against a tree, breaking it due to the impact.
"POPS!" Anna screams in fear, lifting her sights to see the last remaining officer, floating above them with his hands burning and his eyes glowing in red.
"There is nowhere you can run from now on girl" the officer warns her, but Bucky steps in to protect her, holding his gun high and aiming at him "You think that gun will stop me?" he asks him in a mocking tone.
"No…but it can stall you" Bucky replies, shooting his gun at him, firing two bullets to his chest, dropping him to the floor and then he charges an electrical boost on his arm, rushing to the officer to connect a punch to him, weakening him again "Go help Pops and get out!" Bucky tells her, hoping to buy enough time to deal with him.
MEANWHILE, SOMEWHERE ELSE
Through his powers, the Grand Master is keeping an eye on the events, witnessing how his two remaining active acolytes are dealing with the situation, hoping that they will end it and bring back the medallion that the girl stole.
"Your acolytes will fail" a voice is heard in the room, catching the attention of the Grand Master.
"Lord Kurios, they are only human with scarce knowledge of magic, the only thing I require is for them to catch the girl and bring the medallion" the Grand Master explains himself.
"They are not prepared to deal with Chaos Magic, not with the kind she brings" the voice explains, referencing the Scarlet Witch's level of magic.
"I will not fail you, my Lord, the medallion will return and I shall complete the gathering of souls required to bring you to our world" the Grand Master tries to remain on Lord Kurios' good graces.
"Time and Patience is running out, I gave you the power to help you return to your status and help me bring Hell to this Earth, but you failed me losing that medallion…I will not tolerate another mistake" the voice of Lord Kurios echoes with force.
"I won't fail you again, my Lord" the Grand Master replies in a lower voice.
"If you don't bring back that medallion, there will be painful consequences to you; so you better don't. Fail. Again. Mordo" the voice of Kurios scolds his Grand Master as is starts to fade away, prompting him to stand and lower his hood, revealing the face of Doctor Strange's archnemesis Karl Mordo, showing anger at being scolded, but he is aware that failure is no longer an option, and he must bring back that medallion.
The Grand Master has been revealed! Karl Mordo is in the house and he'll be quite the pain in the back for our heroes. And on another side, let's take a moment of silence for poor Henry and Pops, whose lives were lost helping these heroes to avoid capture, but now Bucky and Wanda must fight for their lives and Anna's as well. Get ready for a magical fight!
NEXT CHAPTER: ESCAPE FROM WISCONSIN!