The next couple of days, Heidi and T'Challa discussed some matters regarding their two countries; they were working on a contract for Austria to have vibranium rights. After arrangements were made for the contract, Heidi escorted T'Challa to a jet on the roof of the compound. "It's always a pleasure to see you Heidi." "Likewise, thank you for bringing Alexi to me." He nods with a big smile and takes off. It was a difficult adjustment but she became acquainted with the team and discovered she had a lot in common with Steve and clicked easily with him and Sam. She wasn't sure how she felt about Bucky.
She asked Natasha about him and she explained his story. Despite that he was used as she was, Heidi couldn't shake off the thought that he was the one who had taken her to Hydra. It was because of him, her life changed. She could tell that he became nervous around her too, as if he was unsure how to behave with her. She got along with Nat and Wanda quickly as well. After all, girls have to stick together. Tony wasn't entirely thrilled to see the snow leopard joining Heidi at the Tower. "Crazy cat lady," Stark says under his breath. Everyone eventually got used to the cat. Even Coulson, when he comes to visit, enjoys him and brings treats for him.
(Satellite Heart-Anya Marina)
Within her first few weeks, Heidi made a discovery. She woke up in the middle of the night thinking she heard something. She tried to focus on the sound; it sounded like a moan. She looked at the clock on her nightstand. 3:24 a.m. The sounds became more urgent and then louder. She gets up and takes a handgun to investigate. The sound leads her to someone else's room. The door wasn't completely closed but she couldn't see inside. Aiming the gun at the door with one hand, she uses the other to gently open it ajar. Quickly she pulls the hand back up to the gun.
"NO…STOP…" The moans began to turn to audible words.
When Heidi peeks inside, she saw Bucky. He was tossing and turning in his bed, tangling in his sheets. "UHhh…Please…don't…" She lowered her weapon and relaxed. Slowly, she came closer to him. She can smell his sweat pouring out of him. His eyes are still closed. His hands are clenched in tight fists. It seems strange to see the monster with sad eyes like this. He looks so vulnerable and scared.
This is nothing like the man she first met years ago. Something in her chest tugged at her while watching him. Confident in herself, Heidi takes a hand and wipes his brow. "Shhhh….shhh….Shhhh" she shushes quietly. She pulls his head up enough so she can sit on the edge of the bed before putting him on her lap.
"Noo…no…" he mutters and jerks around. "Shhhh…shh.." She can see his hands slowly relaxing. Heidi brushes his hair from his face and continues to gently shush him. Heidi, then, heard thumping of feet running and instinctively aims the gun at the door. Steve opens the door and was surprised to see her. She sighs with relief and puts the gun away. Bucky then starts to quiet down and was sound asleep. Seeing that he was ok, Heidi pulls away from the bed and adjusts the sheets for him. She and Steve left the room quietly.
"Hey, thanks for that," Steve whispers with a thankful smile. "How often does he get nightmares?" she inquires. Steve shakes his head. "Almost weekly. I try to wake him up when it gets to be too much. That's his third bed since he joined us," he adds lightly. Heidi turns her attention back to Bucky. "My cousin, well…the princess, used to have night terrors when she was little. I would have to crawl in bed and pet her while singing songs until she stopped." She turns back at Steve. "What about you?" Steve was taken back by the question. No one has ever asked him if he was ok. Usually it was the other way around where he's checking up on people. When he doesn't answer she cups his face with her hand. "Everyone has nightmares. It's nothing to be ashamed of." She gives him an encouraging smile. "I'll be listening for you too," she says before walking back to her room, leaving Steve to his thoughts. (end song)
When she was in Austria working with her cousin, the King, she felt that she had to hide or put up a mask constantly. As much as she enjoyed the diplomatic work she had done, Heidi knew she didn't belong there. With the team, they know what is different about her and don't care. They're all different but they work together for the greater good of the earth. It's not easy work but it's worthwhile for her. The fact that she can use her abilities to help those in need helps her get out of bed every day, especially with the possibility of taking down Hydra. With the Avengers, she was able to polish on her skills and control them better. In a way, they've made her better.
If she was going to be part of the team, Heidi was going to have to go through some rough training. They could see that she was natural fighter, which is good but she needed more guidance. Most especially with being an 'enhanced', she will have to learn her strengths and weaknesses. Natasha was assigned to her for hand-to-hand combat and weapons. They worked together for a few months. It was rough at first because she, also, had to do some physical training. When she wasn't with Natasha, she was with Steve in the weight room. And when she wasn't with either of them, Heidi was with Bruce going over her health regarding the Formula and see if there have been any changes.
Initially they haven't seen anything. But after four months of working with Natasha, and sometimes with Rhodes or Sam, and improving rapidly, Bruce started to see some changes in Heidi. He showed her two glass slides of blood samples of her. He put one in the microscope and made her look. "This is when you first came in. Notice the blue cells? That's the Formula. Look how it is mixed into blood cells." "Uh huh." "Do you see some splotches?" "Yeah." "That's dead blood cells. The Formula is attacking the blood cells." Heidi looks up at Bruce with a concerned face. He raises a finger.
"But..." He switches the slides and she looks at the second slide. "This is your sample from the other day, four months later." Heidi could tell the difference but wasn't sure what all it meant. "The Formula is blending in with the blood cells, or attaching, to the cells. Some of them have even changed but they're not dead cells. They're...new." "What does this mean?" she asks. "The Formula is adjusting...it's...evolving with your body. With the training and working with your abilities, it's helping your body grow accustom to the Formula," he explains with a smile. "So...if I hadn't improved myself the Formula would've killed me?" "In a way, yes. It would've been slow...and probably painful." "Wow...interesting." "It is!" Bruce was smiling like a boy in a candy store. Seeing Heidi give him a funny look he apologized. "Sorry. I'm just enjoying the science behind all this." She smiles back at him. "You're fine Dr. Banner. Glad to see that this can be used as a positive outlet," she remarks while gesturing herself.
With her physical training, Heidi learned to handle multiple weapons. She became very handy with a whip to the point that Tony made a special one for her. When he showed it to her, she was impressed with how lightweight it was but after snapping a couple of times, she could tell it was a powerful weapon. On the handle, there were a couple of buttons. "If you press this one," Tony explains and presses a green square button. The whip stiffens and becomes a rod. "Neat!" she exclaims. Tony presses the green button again and it loosens into the whip stage. "And if you're feeling frisky…" He presses a round red button. The whip crackles and pops with electricity. Heidi's eyes widen and a big grin spreads on her face. She was like a kid in a toy store. "I love it!" She gives the man a big hug. "Thank you Tony." "Glad you like," he remarks. Ever since Heidi continued to work with the whip with her hand to hand combat skills.