James Buchanan Barnes woke to the pitter-patter of rain against the large window of his room, a sound that had become quite familiar during his stay at the Avengers Facility. The rain had started in the middle of his first night there, and was still going three days later, meaning he had been trapped inside of the building for the entirety of his time there. Much to his dismay, Lillian had disappeared that first night and had not been seen since, leaving him with only Steve for company. As much as he loved Steve and enjoyed his company, however, it was strange to him to be around his best friend. Steve still treated him like he was that same boy from Brooklyn, and although there was still definitely a large part of that boy left, Bucky had changed. He was slowly regaining some memory from his time as a young man, but he would never truly be the same one that Steve remembered and wished he could be. He didn't have the heart to communicate this to Steve in fear of hurting him, so he tried to keep his distance until he could find a better way to handle what he was feeling; wandering the halls and scoping out the hundreds of rooms in the facility.

Bucky sat up and looked around the dim room – the curtains over the window combined with the gloomy weather outside barely allowed any light in the room – and slowly swung his bare feet off of the bed and onto the cold wooden floor. On his first night, Tony had fixed the room for him by making the bed and providing him with toiletries and towels, but it still lacked the homey feel which Bucky so desperately desired, so he made a mental note to try and find someone to help him decorate. He stretched as he stood, loosening his muscles, and wandered over to the dresser where the clothes he had accumulated over the past few days now rested. Sifting through seemingly countless shirts, Bucky decided on a black t-shirt and pulled it over his head, the shirt almost blending in to his black sweatpants. He made his way to the large wooden door of his bedroom and, for the first time in what seemed like forever, headed toward the kitchen to eat breakfast.

Light chatter drifted from the kitchen, and as he stuck his head around the corner he saw a full table of people, making Bucky wince and almost turn around. He grit his teeth as he heard Steve call him back, and cursed himself for not being invisible.

"Morning, Buck. Sleep well?" Steve prompted.

Bucky nodded, "Yeah, just fine thanks." And managed a small smile.

Tony spoke, his mouth full of cereal, "Captain Crunch over there if you're hungry," he gestured to the kitchen counter, where a bowl and spoon was already set out along with a large gallon of milk. A small "thanks" escaped Bucky's lips as he made his way over to the counter and poured an enormous bowl of cereal. He then plopped down in the chair farthest away from everyone and proceeded to shovel the crunchy cereal into his mouth. When Steve had finished his breakfast, he came and sat next to Bucky, crossing his right ankle over his left knee and looking at him with a smile plastered to his face. Bucky turned his head to face him, his mouth full of food, and smiled awkwardly.

"I've got some good news for you, Buck." Steve finally said, receiving a low hmmph from the other man. "We've got your first mission lined up in just a couple of weeks." he continued, looking more excited than Bucky thought he should.

Knowing it would make Steve happy to see him looking forward to it, Bucky put on a mask of enthusiasm as well, "Really? That's great, where to?"

"Well, our higher-ups said that we'd need to evaluate you a little first before telling you anything, but I can say that it's out of the country." Bucky felt his heart sink slightly at the mention of evaluations. They want to make sure there's no chance of me being controlled by anyone other than them I suppose.

"And," Steve continued, "It'll be a small group of us, just so you can get used to being out in the field without any unnecessary pressure." He shot a glance over at Tony before returning his gaze to his friend. "It'll be the two of us, Sam, and Lillian, and in a couple of days we're all going to sit down and plan so it can go off without a hitch. Are you okay with that?"

Bucky took the last bite of his cereal and nodded at Steve, admittedly a little excited to have a chance to work with Lillian. He had seen how Sam and Steve operated, but the woman was still somewhat of a mystery to him. He stood. "Have you seen her around lately?" he asked, feigning innocence.

Steve smirked, unable to help his mind from going back to Bucky's (for lack of a better word) womanizing younger self, but he quickly shook the memories. "Last I heard she was headed to the gym with Wanda, but you might want to give them some space. It can get a little," he hesitated, searching for the right words, "chaotic in there."

Bucky's face twisted in confusion and Steve held up a hand. "I can't really explain just- you'll find out." This left Bucky even more confused, but he just turned and shook his head, making his way to where he knew the gym was. As he turned down the corridor that led to the large gym area, he heard a scream and instantly began running to the open double doors.

"God dammit Wanda, I can't do this!" Lilly's strained voice sounded again just as he reached the entryway. He pressed his back to the wall outside, not wanting to be seen by either of the women, and listened.

"Lilly, yes you can. Just relax and try again." Wanda's voice was calm and reassuring, but her statement resulted in even more frustration from Lilly.

"Wanda, we've been at this for weeks now with no progress. I can't control it."

Bucky leaned out slightly to get a glimpse of the two women. Lilly was laying on the floor on her right hip with her body propped up by her hands and Wanda was crouched next to her with her long lair pulled back into a loose ponytail.

"Then don't." Wanda's voice was almost a whisper, "Let it flow through you, become you. Once you stop fearing it, that's when you can truly control the power inside of you."

Lilly shook her head. "I don't want to hurt you."

Wanda offered a sad smile. "There's not much anyone can do that'll hurt me these days. Come on." She stood and held out a hand to Lillian, who brushed her hair out of her face before accepting the other woman's help.

Both women stood now, facing each other so all Bucky could see was their profiles. Lilly's hair swished loose around her hips and she rolled her shoulders in an attempt to relax. Wanda mimicked her position; her legs slightly spread apart and her shoulders loose, and nodded. Lilly closed her eyes and held her hand out to her sides so that he palms faced Wanda and breathed deeply. On the exhale, a faint red glow grew from her palms. It happened so slowly that Bucky had to blink a few times to make sure he was seeing correctly, but surely enough it was spreading along her forearms now, growing stronger.

Then, it was everywhere.

A swirling vortex of red surrounded Lillian; her face contorted in pain. Bucky recognized the energy around her; it was similar to the power Wanda wielded. Lillian's, however, was much more raw, unrefined, like fire almost. Bucky pressed his back to the wall once more, letting out a breath he didn't realize he was holding in. He had no idea what the hell had just happened, but he wasn't sure he wanted to see any more if it for the time being, so he swiftly returned to his room and locked the door behind him.

Boy, that woman has a lot of explaining to do.