Hey everyone sorry for the delay. Just had to deal with some minor stuff and a small case of writers block but I'm sure this chapter more than makes up for it. Let me know what you think. Thank you :)
Washington DC, Five Weeks Before- Third Person's POV
The man on the bridge told him he knew him. He told him his name was James Buchanan Barnes. He knew him from before he was an assassin. Before he was frozen. Before he had a metal arm. He was important. The former winter soldier didn't know why but he knew that was a fact.
He remembered flashed of the man as a scrawny kid. He remembered defending him in alleys and taking care of him when he was sick. He remembered seeing him in a bright outfit with stars and stripes.
He needed to know more. He wanted to know who James Buchanan Barnes was and what happened to him.
After a few days of hiding and sleeping in a deserted warehouse he found a flyer for an exhibit at the Smithsonian on Captain America and the Howling Commandos.
He wandered around the city; looking at all the destruction he helped cause and picking the pockets of tourists around the sited. When he finally had enough for a decent meal and admission to the exhibit he went in. He looked around and saw a display showing Steve before the serum and after. He grew over a foot and gained over a hundred pounds.
He kept going and saw a section of the exhibit just about him or on who he used to be. Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes of the 107th regiment. He was known as the only howling commando to not survive the war. Well most of the exhibit was right.
He read through the display over and over again until he had it memorized. He moved on to look at the uniforms they had on display. They all seemed very familiar but one stuck out to him the most. The uniform with the blue peacoat, it was identical with the coat he was wearing in flashes he got. He kept moving through the exhibit until he stopped at one section.
Howling Commandos Medic
The commando's were unique in the sense that their medic was a doctor and a woman. Something that at the time was unheard of. One of the Commando's Jim Morita quoted that because of her he was inspired to pursue a career in medicine after the war. He used his GI bill to pay for medical school and opened up a family practice that is now run by his children and grandchildren.
There weren't any photos of her but instead they had her uniform displayed on a mannequin. A long blue trench coat the same color as the peacoat with black trousers and dark brown boots that went up to her calves. He looked up and saw that she also wore a thigh holster.
"Gun on the right knife on the left." He said. And sure enough he walked over to the left and saw a knife holster. At that moment he noticed something else. On one sleeve there was an embroidered wing pattern and on the other was a circle with a triangle inside. Then it happened. He had another flash. A girl with green eyes and long chocolate brown hair wearing the same uniform and a necklace with that pattern.
"What am I going to do with you?" He heard a familiar voice.
"Patch me up cuz you love me." He said
She rolled her eyes but kept smiling.
It felt so real and the girl was so familiar. He knew her. Without realizing it he clutched his right bicep where a name was written.
"Nora" Bucky whispered.
Present Day- Nora's POV
I grabbed a gun and an extra cartridge of ammo before following Wren to the kitchen.
"Where's the backup generator?" Wren asked.
"The barn, moved it there after dad needed to reboot the suit." I said.
"We need to get the power back up we're sitting ducks here. Stay close." Wren said loading a clip into his gun.
"Really wish we had Axl here. Could really use his sense of smell here." I said.
"It's better he's not, Aiden would take him out just to send a message." He said as we walked over to the barn.
"And him cutting off the power doesn't." I said.
"Classic isolation tactic. Cuts us off from the rest of the world so we can't call for backup."
"And we're blind so he can come at us whenever he wants." I said starting to get a bit anxious.
"Hey," Wren said stopping me. "You're going to be okay. I won't let him get close to you."
"It's okay, A teleporter and a time traveler against a shapeshifter. We got this." I said.
"Right," he said.
We made it to the barn and saw that the generator itself was fine, the connection to the house was severed.
"Can't work with the backup generator. The line's been cut. He probably just shut off the main line to get us out of the house." I said.
"Why would he want us out of the house?" Wren said.
"Weapons stash." I said. Wren's eyes widened and he put a hand on my shoulder and teleported us back to the house. Sure enough all the weapons Wren had laid out were gone.
"Shit." We both said.
Martinsburg, West Virginia, Four Weeks Earlier- Third Person's POV
After he visited the Smithsonian Bucky left DC. The city was still on high alert after everything that happened and he still wasn't sure who he was or if he was still Bucky Barnes. He walked and hitchhiked from small town to small town until he got to West Virginia. It was a small town. The people were used to people passing through on their way to bigger and better places. One more stranger passing through didn't seem strange.
Bucky took some time to go through everything he had written in his journal and decided to go to the local library to get more information. He went in and he started looking through all the history books he could find. Almost everything he found on the commandos was everything he already knew. He knew each of their names. He knew Steve's story and his but for some reason there wasn't any information on the Commando's medic.
"It's good to see a young man picking up a book every once in a while." An elderly lady said as she put some books back on their shelves.
"Uh, just trying to catch up on some history ma'am." Bucky said. "Here let me help you." He said standing up to help her put some books up on the higher shelves.
"Smart and Courteous, your parents raised a fine young man." She said. Bucky felt a pang of sadness at the thought of his parents. He didn't remember them but maybe that was for the best. How could he have explained everything he had done for the past seventy years?
"Um thank you, ma'am."
"Captain America and the Howling Commandos." She read one of his books. "Theses are good references but they are outdated."
"Outdated?" Bucky said confused.
"Yes, ever since New York so many new and better books and articles have been published. You can probably find them online." She said.
"Online?" Bucky said confused.
"On the computer, they're right over there." She said pointing to some of the cubicles.
"Thank you." Bucky said before walking over to the computer and sitting down. He had seen the scientists around Hydra use devices such as the ones he was looking at but never used one himself. How hard could it be?
The computer was open to a random page. And there was a tool bar that said search. He was searching for information.
He typed it in and saw over a million results pop up. That didn't help. Okay, he was being too vague.
Information on Captain America.
A couple thousand results. Now he was getting somewhere. There were many facts even a few drawings.
Howling Commandos medic
There were a few results and a recent article.
The return of Captain America has sparked a new interest in his heroics during the Second World War. There are many things that were kept from the public. One of the most surprising was that his unit, The Howling Commandos, included a female Doctor.
Little is known about who she was or what happened to her after the war but recent interviews with descendants of the Commandos say that their grandfathers spoke fondly of her. Many say that her contribution in the line of duty saved many of their lives various times.
Whoever this woman was she opened up many doors for women everywhere.
That was good to know, just still no knowledge about what happened after the war.
Bucky moved the mouse cursor back to the search box and thought for a moment before typing in the name on his right bicep.
Nora Eliana Stark
Thousands of results but none of them were about the girl he remembered. A few of them were from Tony Stark fan clubs. He looked up Tony Stark and saw he was Howard Stark's son. He looked up what happened to his friend and found an article from the fifties.
Howard Stark and mystery date attend Met Gala.
He clicked on the article and a picture of Howard with a very familiar brunette. The article said that Howard was a benefactor for an exhibit and that no one knew who his date was just that she was very beautiful. He kept looking through any articles he could find but nothing showed up. It wasn't until he found the last article about Howard that he froze.
Howard and Maria Stark Die in Car Accident.
Then he saw it. He was riding a motorcycle following a car until he shot out its tires. There was a crash and he walked towards the car. A woman kept crying out for Howard and then nothing.
"Excuse me, we're closing up." The librarian from before told him.
"uh, I'll be out in a minute." He said.
He gathered his things and left. He walked around town until he sat down on the bench of a local park. He watched people come and go while he read through his notes waiting to see if anything else came to mind.
Then he heard it.
"Gramps come on." He heard a girl say. He peered above his book and saw a four year old girl walking as she led her grandfather to the swings.
"Hold your horses." The old man chuckled.
Then he got another flash. A four year old girl with brown hair and bring green eyes. Laughing and running around. Hugging him and the blonde man from the bridge. Doing homework and messing around with a radio. And lastly the same girl dressed in different clothes that looked like kids pajamas. She was sitting on a stool in a modern lab putting something together. He remembered reaching out with his metal arm and then the girl turned around. He saw her bright green eyes and then nothing.
Who was that girl?
Present Day- Nora's POV
"Shit" We both said. Then the power came back on and we heard a thud. Wren and I peered over the couch and saw a grenade without the pin.
"Fuck!" We shouted. I put up a force field while Wren teleported behind me. The force of the blast still pushed us back and knocked us to the ground.
At that moment Aiden walked in with a machine gun.
"Hello Brother." He said before pointing the gun at us. "Goodbye brother."
I used an energy blast to push him back before he pulled the trigger. Next thing I knew there was a hand on my shoulder and we were in a strange room with metal walls.
"Nora," Wren said startling me.
"AH!" I shouted but he put a hand over my mouth.
"Calm down." He said.
"Where the hell are we?" I asked.
"We're still in the house. We're just in the panic room." He said.
"We have a panic room?" I said.
"Had it installed a few months ago." He said moving around to one of the drawers.
"You installed a panic room in the house? How did I not know this? How did you get it installed without me knowing?" I asked.
"It was a long weekend. You were working double shifts and I was bored. Not really important though. Friday, what's the situation downstairs?" Wren asked.
"You're brother's downstairs and he has your entire weapons stash." Friday answered.
"Thank you captain obvious," I said. "I think he wanted to know logistics like what room is he in? How many weapons does he have? What is he doing?"
"He is currently loading every weapon he took from the stash while making a call." Friday answered.
"Who's he calling?" Wren asked.
"It isn't very clear but he called them Simone." Friday said.
"That name ring any bells?" I asked.
"No, must be a new associate." He said.
"So this panic room come with any neat trick or another weapons stockpile?"
"Nope, this was a last resort. Considering he started throwing grenades around, this was the best bet."
"Yeah but now we're sitting ducks here." I said.
"It's temporary, Friday, where is he keeping all the weapons?"
"The dining room Doc." Friday answered.
"And where is Aiden?" I asked.
"In the study." She answered.
"Weapons then back here?" I said.
"Stay close." he said before putting a hand on my shoulder and teleporting us to the dining room.
We grabbed everything we could until we heard another thud. I put up another force field and shielded us both. There was another blast. I waited and I put it down thinking we were in the clear until someone kicked me in the side.
"Ah!"
"Nora" I heard Wren call out followed by another thud.
"Wren!" I called out.
"I'd be more worried about myself if I were you." I heard a voice say.
"Who the hell are you?" I asked.
"I'm the last face you'll ever see." She said before trying to punch me but I managed to force out another energy blast.
"That's not happening." I said.
"Really?" She said before pointing a gun at me. I projected another force field and waited until she was out of ammo before pulling out my gun and firing back. She was fast and managed to move out of the way. She disappeared and I had no idea where she was until I felt a punch hit me on the cheek.
"What the hell?" I said looking for her but not being able to see anything.
"Not so tough now are you?" She taunted before I felt a kick in the gut.
"Ah." I grunted. I grabbed the gun and waited. I saw a flash in front of me and fired.
She appeared again clutching her leg. Looks like I managed to graze her.
"You bitch." She said before leaping and jumping on me. We struggled and rolled around. She tried getting the gun away from me and turned it towards me but it didn't work. We fought she head-butted me and kept trying to hit me. Next thing I know there was a gunshot.
Gatlinburg, Tennessee- Three Weeks Earlier- Third Person's POV
Before Bucky left DC he visited the last base he was stationed at and got any files he could find on himself. All he found was a box with files of his previous missions and nothing else.
He read through them but nothing brought back any memories.
He laid down on the lumpy futon of an empty log cabin in the woods. He closed his eyes for a minute and drifted off to sleep.
"Sergeant James Barnes from the 107th. Pleasure to meet you ma'am." He answered
"James Buchanan Barnes?" A girl asked.
"Yeah how did you know?" He asked. The girl answered by laughing. "Why is that funny?" He asked.
"My Name is Nora, Nora Eliana Stark." She answered.
"Shit" He said letting out a humorless laugh. "I kind of pictured this happening a lot differently."
"You and me both." She said.
"How did you end up here?" He asked.
"You're probably not going to believe me but I'll tell you anyway. I'm not from here." Nora answered.
"Okay, I'm not either. I'm from Brooklyn." Bucky answered confused as to why she was suddenly so nervous.
"I didn't explain myself well. My birthday is November 8th…1992" Nora answered.
"Wait how…" He paused for a minute trying to figure a way out to put his thoughts into words. "Are you telling me you're from the future?"
"Yeah. Don't know how but I went from a physics presentation in the beginning of 2011 to a Nazi prison in 1943. You probably think I'm insane.
The vision faded into another place. It looked like a lab of some sore. There was a table with notebooks and textbooks spread out. On one side of the table there was a little girl. The same girl he remembered from before. She was wearing a red dress and her hair was tied back with a red ribbon.
"Hey sweetheart, what's your name?" He asked.
"I'm Nora Stark, Nice to meet you." She answered with a small smile.
The scene flashed back to a bedroom. He put the girl on the bed and tucked her in but here he had a metal arm.
"Thank you Shadow." She said sleepily as she drifted off to sleep.
Bucky woke up gasping for air. Nora's a time traveler. He met her when she was a little girl and recently not in the 1940's. Nora was alive! He grabbed his notebook and started writing it all down so he wouldn't forget anything. He had to find her.
Present Day- Nora's POV
I heard a gunshot and then the girl slumped over me. I felt something warm and sticky fall onto me. I rolled to my side and pushed her off of me. She was regurgitating and coughing up blood.
"Shit." I said. I grabbed a dishcloth that was lying on the ground and pushed it onto her wound.
"Ah!" She yelled.
"Calm down. I'm trying to slow the bleeding." I said.
"W-why aa-re you he-helping?" She coughed up.
"I'm kind of against unnecessary killing." I said.
"L-let me die. It's too… ah late." She said.
"I can help you just hold on." I said.
"I-it's better this way." She said pulling the rag off and grabbing my hand. "It's i-in h-is b-blood." Then her hand became limp and her breathing stopped.
I just killed someone. Her blood was all over me. On my clothes and on my hands. I puked my guts out and I started shaking. I'm a doctor and I save lives but I killed that woman. Who am I?
"Nora!" I heard someone shout. I looked over and saw Wren walk in.
"Wren" I said getting up and hugging him
"Hey you okay?" He said looking at my hands before looking me over.
"It's not my blood it's hers." I said looking over at the dead body.
"We need to get out of here." Wren said.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Aiden rigged the grenades into a bomb. We have to move." Wren said grabbing my hand and leading me out.
Batesville, Arkansas- Two Weeks Earlier- Third Person's POV
Bucky went through each and every file until he had them memorized but none of them mentioned him seeing a little girl. He had finally had enough and threw the box against the wall of the room he was staying in making the papers scatter all over the floor.
'This shouldn't be so hard.' Bucky said.
He looked down and saw some blueprints. It looked like some sort of tube. But that wasn't what caught his attention. At the corner of the page written in sloppy kid writing were the initials, NES followed by the date April 13, 1995.
"Mission Report April 13th 1995." He whispered before quickly picking up all the papers.
April 1995.
He looked through each and everyone of the files until finally he found the one.
Mission Report April 13th, 1995
Asset was awoken to eliminate target speaking at fundraiser for re-election in Dallas but services were no longer required since target suffered a heart attack and went into cardiac arrest.
Instead the asset was reassigned a recon mission to one of Tony Stark's properties, a ranch, to find out if he was working on any new weapons. Asset returned with blue prints included in the file, not of use. He was prepped and returned to cryostasis chamber.
Present Day- Nora's POV
Wren grabbed my hand and led me to the kitchen.
"Wren teleport us out of here." I said.
"I can't" He said.
"What do you mean you can't?" I said stopping and letting go of his hand.
"Nora we don't have time for this." He said coming forward and taking my hand. "Love you have to listen to me."
I pulled my hand away from him.
"You're not Wren." I said.
"What are you talking about?"
"Wren doesn't say love, or calls me by a nickname." I said.
"Nora!" I heard Wren call out from the living room.
"Wren!" I called out.
Aiden took advantage of then moment to grab me and pull me against him. He put a hand around my throat and the other against my waist, keeping my arms down.
"Let me go." I said.
"Ah, ah, ah," He tutted.
"Nora!" Wren said walking into the kitchen but stopped when he saw us. Wren has always been good at hiding his emotions but the look he had on his face right now, he was terrified.
Dallas, Texas- Three Days Earlier- Third Person's POV
After a week of hitch hiking and walking through highways, Bucky finally made it to Dallas. He lived on the streets under bridges and spent his days in the library finding out everything he could. There were no properties listed as owned by Tony Stark anywhere in the city and there weren't any ranches either.
He thought back to everything he had remembered so far. All he knew was that Nora grew up on a ranch near Dallas. She had a lab in the basement and it was close to a lake. The property was isolated. Other than that he had nothing.
He looked through maps of the area and county records. He found the closest lake to the city and cross-listed properties against it. So far he found that the lake was split into three properties.
One was an actual ranch, the other was a farm and the third was owned by a shell corporation.
They all fit the pattern now, he just had to check each one individually.
A Few Hours Before- Third Person's POV
He had walked for days. He slept in the woods and lived off vegetables he stole from one of the farms he checked out. He made it to the first property but that was actually just a family owned farm.
The second property was owned by a retired elderly couple. They were very nice people but not who he was looking for.
He walked to the next property but stopped for the night. The next day he walked around the last property but the house was empty. He was about to rethink the entire plan when he saw an old barn.
"You want to sit down? I can take a look at your arm and maybe fix it." Nora offered.
Bucky walked into the barn. It was a bit different now but the tool shelves were still the same as before. He has been here before. He was exactly where he needed to be. That's when he heard it, a car pull up to the house and people talking.
He had finally made it. Bucky stayed in the woods watching them from the woods. Nora was talking to a reddish blonde haired man. They were talking and he pulled out a gun from under the coffee table.
"What the hell?" He heard Nora say.
"It's called a gun," the man retorted.
"I know what it's called smartass, I meant what's it doing under the coffee table?"
"I put it there." The man answered.
"When?" Nora said confused. She acted just the way he saw in his memories.
Those two bickered for what seemed like hours until suddenly the bickering stopped and the power was out. They were quiet before they walked out of the house and to the barn.
Should he go help them?"
Present day- Nora's POV
"Nora!" Wren said walking into the kitchen but stopped when he saw us. Wren has always been good at hiding his emotions but the look he had on his face right now, he was terrified. "Aiden let her go, she has nothing to do with this."
"Nothing to do with this? Just like Beth?" Aiden spat out squeezing my throat a bit more. I put my hand on his arm and tried releasing an energy pulse but nothing happened.
"I wouldn't try that love." He said before tapping a ring against my neck. "Special toxin used in our training. Negates abilities so we can focus on hand to hand combat without training wheels. Good times huh brother?"
"Aiden, I was the one that killed Beth on orders from them. She was getting close to figuring them out and I didn't have a choice. It was her or you and I chose you." Wren said.
"I didn't ask you to. She was my everything and you killed her right in front of me just like I'm going to kill Nora in front of you." He said squeezing me tighter.
"Wren…" I managed to gasp out.
"It's going to be okay Nora." He said.
"Did you tell her how much you care about her? You should then because Nora isn't going to be with us much longer." He taunted.
"You don't have to this." Wren pleaded.
"I do. I want you to feel every ounce of pain I felt. I want you to hold the woman you love as the light fades from her eyes and she breathes her last breath. I want you to lose everything that gives your pathetic life meaning and then when you think it can't get any worse I will slowly tear you limb from limb until there's nothing left." He said. "Say goodbye."
"Nora…"
"It's okay Wren. It's going to be okay." I said. Aiden moved his arm from my waist and held me by my neck. He lifted his arm and it shifted into a sharp blade. Aiden moved his arm behind me. I felt a sharp pain on my back and in front of me. I looked down and saw Aiden's arm coming out of me before he pulled it out. I felt myself fall but then someone caught me.
I looked up and saw Wren looking down at me. His voice was faint but I could still hear it.
"Nora, stay with me, I can fix this you just have to hold on okay." He pleaded. He put his hands on my stomach and I groaned in pain.
Why wasn't it healing? I saw Aiden standing above Wren putting his hand when suddenly a metal hand wrapped around his neck and there was a crunching sound. Aiden collapsed on the ground. I saw him gurgle blood and drip onto the floor before finally dying. I looked up and saw a man with shaggy brown hair and the gorgeous grey blue eyes I'd recognize everywhere.
"B-bu-cky." I choked out before everything faded away into darkness.
Third Person's POV-
Wren kneeled next to Nora putting pressure on the wound. Aiden just stood there. It took everything in him not to walk over there and kill him.
"Nora you have to stay with me." He pleaded. He noticed her eyes suddenly got wider before he heard a crunching sound followed by a thud. Wren looked over and saw Aiden lying on the ground. Standing above his body was the last person he ever expected to see.
"You're…" Wren started.
"Help her." Bucky said.
"Nora…" Wren called out checking her pupils.
"B-bu-cky." She said before her breathing stopped.
"No, no no no." Wren said before starting chest compressions. "Come on Nora, don't do this."
He performed CPR but it was too late.
"Fuck." Wren said "I'm sorry." He said tearing up pulling her body into a hug. "This wasn't supposed to happen. This is all my fault."
"No it's not." Bucky said looking at Wren. "It's his fault." Bucky said kicking Aiden's body.
"He only came after her because of me." Wren said.
"Maybe, but from what I can tell she chose to stand by you. Don't let her sacrifice be in vain." Bucky said looking down at Nora. He took her left hand and held to noticing there was some sort of mesh fabric on her wrist. He took it off and saw her soulmark. His name written on her wrist.
He was about to let go when suddenly she gripped his hand. She gasped for air and sat up coughing.
"Nora!" Wren shouted surprised.
"It is so good to get out every once in a while." She said stretching she opened her eyes and they were glowing.
"Nora?" Wren asked confused.
"Not exactly." She answered.
"Aya." Wren said realizing who he was talking.
"Always the smart one Wren." She said. "And look, you found another assassin buddy." She said looking at Bucky.
"What are you doing? Where's Nora?" Wren asked.
"Oh would you relax?" She said standing up. "Your wife's taking a nap. Took this as a chance to stretch my legs. Nora's been keeping me cooped up in the back of her head since she found out about him"
"So she's not Nora?" Bucky asked Wren confused.
"It's Nora's body it's just the stone's consciousness that's in control." Wren explained.
"Stone?" Bucky asked getting even more confused.
"Your memory's not so great." Wren pointed out. "Guessing you remembered something that brought you here."
"I had flashes of her as a kid. I was here on assignment once." Bucky said.
"Hydra knows about this place? Not as far off the map as Nora said it was." Wren muttered.
"It was hard to find the record just had to know what you're looking for." Bucky said.
"As fascinating as this conversation is you two should probably get rid of the bodies before they start stinking up the place." Aya said.
"Can we talk to Nora?" Wren asked.
"No she's still knocked out and it's for the best she probably should see the gaping hole in her body." She said looking down at the stab wound.
"I thought you healed her?" Wren asked.
"I do but the bigger the wound the longer it takes and I didn't feel like blasting your brother. I was tired of being kept in the dark." Aya said.
"So you let him kill Nora?" Wren said angrily.
"Yes, serves her right for ignoring me." Aya said opening the refrigerator and pulling out a bottle of wine.
"Fucking hell Aya. You're thousands of years old don't you think it's a bit childish to be pulling these tantrums?" Wren asked.
"Didn't really have much of a choice now did I? How else was I going to talk to you?" Aya said.
"You wanted to talk?" Wren said confused. "Why?"
"I would appreciate it if you could possibly talk Nora into maybe talking to me again?" Aya said.
"You two share a body but don't speak to each other? How does that work?" Bucky asked.
"Nora essentially ignores her anytime she tries to say anything." Wren said.
"We were making progress and it all went to hell? I thought she understood that everything happens for a reason. Everything I have ever done was for a reason."
"That's the thing Aya. The ends don't justify the means. You've put Nora through hell the past few years. She's lost people. You've kept her away from Steve you lied to her about Bucky…"
"I didn't lie to her I just… didn't say anything." Aya said drinking wine straight out of the bottle.
"A lie by omission is still a lie." Wren said.
"Then what am I supposed to do apologize?" Aya said.
"Well that's a start." Wren said.
"You can't possibly be serious? I'm older than the universe itself and you want me to apologize to a mortal?!"
"Hey you asked me for help. Apologizing isn't a sign of weakness it's a show of humility and that won't exactly help with Nora but it will get your foot in the door. Apologize and mean it and follow with a grand gesture. That's how you get back to the way things were." Wren said.
"Grand gesture?" She asked.
"Figure it out. You, you mind helping me out with the bodies, we can bury them out in the woods." Wren said.
"Yes." He said with a nod. He looked over at Nora or Aya, whoever she was before dragging out Aiden's body.
"I'll grab the girl." Wren said.
"Wait." Aya said.
"What?" Wren said.
"Get blood samples from each of them. Nora's going to want to see what's in them later." Aya said.
"Really?"
"You said grand gestures this is one." Aya said before walking out of the kitchen to the living room.
"Guess I'm taking blood samples." Wren said before teleporting to the lab and grabbing a blood draw kit. He took one from Aiden. He nodded at Bucky before going to do the same to the other assassin. They took the bodies out to the forest and buried them.
"Is this normal for you two?" Bucky asked.
"No, well not anymore. I grew up in the life, Nora she's seen death but judging from the bile next to the body I dragged out she just killed someone for the first time, well at least with her bare hands. She's going to be a wreck." Wren said.
"Are you two…" Bucky asked looking at his wedding band.
"That's a complicated story. We're married just not romantically involved." Wren said.
"I remember her, from before… she's a time traveler. That's what she called it." Bucky said.
"That's something you should ask her to explain. It's pretty confusing at times. Aya, who you just met, is the consciousness of the stone that causes the Time Jumps." Wren said digging the grave.
"Time Jumps?" Bucky said tilting his head confused.
"The time traveling incidents, It's what Nora calls them" Wren explained.
"How long has she been… Time jumping?" Bucky said.
"It's been three years since it started but she's been having the jumps for four years counting the time she spent in the 1940's." Wren said.
"That's where we met isn't it?" Bucky asked.
"Yeah, but you should probably wait for her to explain it to you. She didn't give me a lot of details. It's hard for her to talk about it." Wren said.
"Right." Bucky said. They buried the bodies and made it back to the house.
"Aya?" Wren called out.
"In the living room" She replied. The walked through the dining room and saw that the room was spotless. It looked like Aiden had never blown a grenade in there. The blood splatters were gone. They walked into the living room and saw that it was spotless like before everything started.
"You've been busy." Wren said.
"Grand gestures. The house has been repaired to its former state. All the weapons have been places in their holsters with the exception of the explosives. Those I put in a safe box in the barn. Don't know what you were thinking keeping those in the house." Aya reprimanded.
"You too?" Wren said.
"You kept explosives in the house?" Bucky said.
"You never know?" Wren said with a shrug.
"The wound's been healed. It's time." Aya said.
"I'll let her know what you did." Wren said.
"I would appreciate it." Aya said before here eyes glowed and she closed them. She started falling but Wren teleported over and caught her.
Nora's POV-
I was having a weird dream. I was smaller and Dad and I were playing tag on the beach close to his house in Malibu.
"I'm gonna get you." Dad said running after me.
"No you're not, I'm faster daddy." I said. Next thing I knew he snuck up behind me and grabbed me spinning me around. I couldn't stop laughing.
"How about we go for a swim?" dad said with a smirk.
"No it's cold, I don't want to drown!" I shouted.
"Hey, I'm not going to let anything happen to you it's my job." Dad said with a smile.
"Pinky Promise." I said sticking my finger up.
"Pinky Promise." Dad said linking his finger with mine.
"Nora, it's time." A voice said. I felt the chills run up my spine and then everything started glowing. I felt myself falling and then someone caught me.
I opened my eyes and everything seemed too bright.
"Uh, my stomach feels funny." I groaned. Then Wren pulled me into a hug. "Oh,"
"Don't ever scare me like that again." He said.
"Wasn't planning on it. Dying does not hurt any less the second time." I said.
"This happened before?" Wren said.
"Yeah, France 1944. Gunshot wound that caused internal bleeding. Came back like nothing happened."
"And you didn't warn me?!" Wren said.
"I did say everything was going to be okay." I said. "Seriously hate dying. Oh wow this place is spotless. I thought those grenades would have caused more damage." I said looking around.
"Oh they did, Aya took over and cleaned up the place. She left some blood samples in the lab downstairs said you may want to see them later." Wren said. "There's also something else you should see, well someone."
"Someone?" I asked confused.
"You can come out now." Wren said. I heard footsteps and then walked in from the dining room.
"Bucky?" I asked.
"Nora." He said.
"You know who I am?" I asked.
"I have your name on my arm and you have mine on your wrist. I met you before, I don't know how but…" Before I could finish I was hugging him.
"Uh…" He said not doing anything but shifting uncomfortably.
"Nora, I don't think he's at the hugging stage yet." Wren butted in.
"Oh, right sorry." I said backing away and wiping away tears that may or may not have been shed. "So crazy night."
"That's one word for it." Wren said.
"We look like crap." I said looking at the shredded clothes I was wearing and the fact that I was covered in blood some of which wasn't even mine.
"Call it a night?" Wren offered.
"I'm kind of hungry." I said.
"Pizza?" He offered.
"Sounds great but uh, should you…" I said looking at his clothes.
"Right. I'll hop in the shower and then pop into New York to grab a pizza." Wren said.
"Perfect." I said before he teleported.
I looked over at Bucky and saw that he was shifting uncomfortably.
"You probably want to clean up too." I said. He just looked at me blankly.
"I have guest rooms upstairs and down here, you have a preference?" I asked. "They all have their own bathrooms."
"Which ever's closest." He answered in a low voice.
"Okay, follow me." I said. I took him to the guest room next to the living room. We walked in and Bucky just stood at the doorway looking in. "The bathroom's all set up. I think Wren put in some of his extra toiletries under the sink. There's extra towels in the cabinets. You can put your clothes in the hamper and I'll put them in the wash tomorrow. I'll go get you some clothes. Wren's about your size I think."
"I'll leave your clothes on the bed, hop in the shower, dinner's in a bit." I said walking out.
"Thank you." He whispered.
I went upstairs and knocked on Wren's door. He answered wearing only a towel.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"Bucky kind of needs a change of clothes." I said.
"Right, Uh, here's a pair of navy sweats and a grey T-shirt. Also a pack of new underwear. I'll stop by and get him some clothes of his own tomorrow." He said.
"Thanks." I said.
"You doing okay?" Wren asked.
"Yeah, just been a weird day." I said. "What about you?"
"Long day." He said
"It has, I'll see you in a bit." I said before heading downstairs.
I walked into Bucky's room and placed the clothes on the bed. Right when I did though Bucky came out of the bathroom wearing nothing and I mean nothing. Of course I didn't notice right away.
"I got you some clothes for now, Wren said he'd stop by and get you some of your own tomorrow but for now… oh my gosh you're naked." I said looking anywhere but down. Bucky was so casual about being naked. While I was avoiding looking down I saw that he had a cut on his right arm.
"What happened to your arm?' I said walking toward him to get a closer look.
"I must have cut it when I was running in the woods." He said. That was the most I'd heard him say in a while.
"I need to clean that." I said. I went into the bathroom and pulled out the first aid kit. "Sit down."
He didn't argue. He sat down on the bed and lucky for me he slipped on some boxers while I was getting the first aid kit. I opened it and pulled out the antiseptic wipes.
"This might sting a little." I said before wiping the wound. He didn't even flinch. As soon as I was done a put a bandage on it and put everything away.
"I'm gonna shower feel free to go watch TV while you wait." I said. Bucky didn't even answer he just sat on the bed. I walked out and made my way upstairs to my room. I picked up my clothes and was about to hop in the shower when I started getting the chills again.
"You have got to be kidding me." I said before I started glowing again. I closed my eyes and groaned. Please take me somewhere without explosions or gunshots. I've had enough for one day.
When I opened my eyes I was back at the compound and everyone was sitting at the dinner table.
"Doll?" Bucky said standing up.
"Yes! no explosions. Thank you Aya!" I said.
"What happened to you?"Rhodey said coming over.
"Um just been a long day." I said.
"Is that blood?" Natasha said.
"Yeah but it's not mine, well not all of it." I said with a shrug.
"What?" Rhodey asked.
"Long story, Wren's brother showed up. Assassin tried to kill me. I shot her blood splattered everywhere, grenades exploded in the house, Aiden stabbed and killed me then I came back from the dead. Is there a shower I can use?" I asked.
"I remember that." Bucky said. "Come on, you can use the shower in my room."
"Thank You." I said.
I followed him to his room and Bucky handed me a towel. I couldn't help but laugh at the irony of the situation.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
"You remember the day you showed up at the ranch and you came out of the shower buck naked?"
"You started blushing." He said chuckling.
"You had no idea why it was so weird to be completely naked." I said.
"HYDRA didn't really care about my privacy." He said sadly.
"Sorry I didn't think about that." I said.
"Don't be, the fact that instead of gaping at my arm you were more concerned about a cut made me feel… normal." He said.
"I've seen your arm before. Right Shadow?" I asked.
"I thought you didn't remember." He said.
"I thought you were just a dream or an imaginary friend." I said.
"Our lives are a mess." Bucky said.
"At least we've got each other." I said.
"And Steve." Bucky said and I just looked away.
"I'm going to hop in the shower." I said.
"What was that?" He said.
"What was what?" I said.
"You know what?"
"Bucky, I don't think we should talk about this, altering timelines and what not." I said.
"Why did you look away when I said Steve?" Bucky said and I looked away again. "You just did it again."
"I think that's something you should talk about with current me. I've had a long day and I'd rather not talk about that." I said.
"Nora…"
"Buck, sweetie. I love you, but you missed a lot of things in the seventy years you were gone. Things happened and by the look of it you're still catching up. I'm not the right person to tell you these things just like you can't tell me things that happened after we met again okay." I said putting my hands on either side of his face and waiting for him to answer.
He put his hands on my waist and nodded. I kissed him and hugged him before letting go and hopping in the shower. It took forever to get all the dirt, grime and blood off of me. I must've lost most of my skin layers from how hard I was scrubbing.
When I got out of the shower wrapped in a towel Bucky was putting clothes on his bed.
"Star wars Pjs, good choice." I said grabbing the shorts and black tank top.
"Thought you might like them." He said with a smile.
"I do." I said.
"Get dressed we might still make it to dinner." He said.
"Sure" I said dropping my towel and getting dressed in front of him. "Done. You okay?"
"Yeah just got a good view is all."
"Glad you enjoyed it." I said with a smirk. "I'm starving." But before I could get anywhere I got the chills again.
"Ah crap." I said.
"Again?" Bucky asked.
"Sorry." I said as I started glowing.
I appeared in my room and there was a knock at my door.
"Nora, food's getting cold." Wren called out.
"Be right there." I said. I took a step forward but then I felt a surge of energy. Next thing I knew I was downstairs in the kitchen.
"Whoa." I said.
"How did you…?" Wren asked.
"Don't know don't care. Where's the pizza?" I said.
Wren sighed. "Meatlovers." He said opening one of the boxes.
"You're the best." I said grabbing a slice before sitting down. I couldn't help this feeling that this was just the beginning of something bigger coming our way.
Third Person's POV-
Out in the forest, there were two fresh graves. The soil in one of them started shifting until suddenly a hand popped out. A man dug himself out of the grave and looked at his surroundings. He cracked his neck and stood up. This was far from over.