Note: Please read the ENTIRE author's note at the end! I has IMPORTANT INFORMATION!

Chapter Six

In Which Our Heroes Regroup

It doesn't take long before the airborne Avengers are able to beat back the freaky lady they see in the middle of the cloud. When the wind dies, Pietro and Sonya hurry back to the tower. Or, they try to hurry, because Sonya takes time to heal the worst of the injuries, including several dozen broken bones. She is finishing up healing a child's arm, when the extent of her powers finally get to her, and she faints, unable to keep back the sense of others' pain, even with her headband

"Is she okay?" The kid asks Pietro as he lifts Sonya up.

"Oh, yeah. She's fine. Just a little tired out."

"Sofiya."

Sonya frowns. She's surrounded by darkness. The voice calling her given name seems to come from all around her.

"Sofiya." It calls again.

"Who's there?" She replies. She knows it's not Wanda. She would recognize her best friend. "What do you want?"

"My, my. Is that anyway to greet a new friend?"

"What? I don't even know who you are! A new friend? I've got plenty of friends."

"Now, you have another! You'd better wake up now."

Sonya's eyes fly open, she gasps, and jerks upward, the top of her head colliding with Pietro's chin. He yelps and drops her, the two of them landing in a heap, groaning and rubbing their heads.

"Ow!" The speedster hisses accusingly. "That hurt!"

The healer clutches her head. "Owowow! Geez!"

They make quite a picture, lying in the entryway of the Avenger's tower, groaning in pain. It makes sense that Clint busts out laughing when he enters the room, intent on investigating the commotion.

The Avenger's gather in the living room, battered and bleeding, but everyone still alive.

"That was extremely bizarre." Tony says, pressing an icepack to a bump on his temple.

"You can say that again." Sam says, dabbing at a cut on his forehead.

"That was extremely bizarre." Ironman repeats, a shit-eating grin on his face. Everyone lets out long-suffering sighs.

Sonya and Pietro are tearing into an entire box of Cliff bars, trying to boost their energy.

"I'm sorry, guys." Sonya mumbles around a mouthful. "I'll get right to tending your injuries in a moment. Let me just finish this."

Steve waves her off. "It's fine, Sonya. Take your time." He isn't badly hurt, having been stuck with getting civilians to safety, unable to fight because of the wind.

The healer nods and shoves another bite in her mouth, eyes scanning over her friends. Of the group that had been fighting in the air, Vision was the only one uninjured, unsurprisingly. Wanda and Sam have several lacerations and bruises along their arms, legs and heads. Thor is suffering from a bad cut along his temple and a sprained hand. Tony and Rhodey, who had been protected by their suits, aren't in bad shape, either, just a goose-egg forming on Tony's temple, and Rhodey has two broken ribs from when he was thrown into a building.

Sonya swallows and stands up, hurrying to Sam and Wanda first. Everyone relaxes when they're all healed, the sense of well-being gained from being fixed up is contagious.

Talk soon turns to the attack, Tony and his group doing their best to explain what they had encountered.

"They were controlling the wind." Ironman says. "I think it was a woman, not very old though, maybe around 26 or so?"

"That sounds about right." Rhodey agrees.

"Her power was quite impressive." Thor booms, stroking his chin. "Never have I seen a mortal able to contend with us so easily. Her powers were almost other worldly in their strength. I am still very puzzled over this."

"The weird thing is," Wanda says. "Is that most people have a goal or a motivation. I couldn't detect one, though."

"Yes. Her purpose was hidden extremely well." Vision put in.

"Maybe she was just a distraction?" Steve proposed. "Or an intimidation tactic?"

Pietro and Sonya's eyes meet from across the room.

"I don't think so." The speedster pipes up. "She was going for something."

"The attack on the Tower may have been a diversion, though." Sonya adds. "But she was definitely on a mission that was more than just an intimidation tactic."

"What do you think she was after?" Bucky asks. He looks wary, eyes fixed on the healer as if he already knows the answer, and fears it.

"Me."

The word rings through the room, everyone stiffening.

"What makes you think that?" Natasha inquires, the first to break the silence. Sonya fidgets, tugging at a curl of purple hair.

"The wind… It seemed to be trying to… grab me."

She looks up, realizing her explanation isn't sufficient. "Like…" She pauses, casting around for the right words. "It would whirl around me, like it was trying to grab me, take me away. Trying to tip me over."

"Do you think this has to do with the kidnappings happening?" Clint says.

"I'm not following." Rhodey tells him.

Hawkeye bites his lip. "Sonya, you said you were like the kidnapping victims, you have ADHD… You're on the Autism Spectrum… The only difference is… You already have powers. Maybe…maybe…"

"Maybe they want to use her as an example." Bucky says, his voice flat. "They want to see how she works and try to copy that. She's a resource, an asset." His voice tightens with the last word, an almost imperceptible shiver running through his body.

The meeting doesn't last long after that, Clint and Nat heading out to do a perimeter check, Bucky disappearing to his room, Steve heading to the training room, Bruce to the lab, Sonya burying herself in a book.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y." Tony says.

"Yes?"

"Up security around Sonya."

He won't admit it to anyone, but the possibility of the girl getting taken is terrifying to him. 'Damn.' He thinks. 'I think I may actually be fond of the kid.'

"You're worried about her." Pepper says, emerging from the kitchen and handing him a warm drink.

Tony gives a noncommittal shrug, not looking at her. "I don't know."

"It's okay to let other people in." She says, hugging him. "You let me in."

"I don't know, Pepper. I don't know."

"Hey."

Sonya looks up from her book to see Bucky standing in the open doorway of her room. He's got a package under one arm, his eyes shadowed, brown hair pulled back in a sloppy ponytail.

"Hey back." Sonya replies, waving him in. The ex-assassin plops down on the rug next to her, leaning back against her bed. "You okay?" She asks him.

He nods. "You should be more worried about yourself." He places the package he brought with him on her lap. "This is for you. Something to protect yourself."

Sonya set down her book and looks at the package. It's just a black drawstring backpack. She opens it and dumps out its contents. A supple leather utility belt, lined with pockets, is easy to identify. Two of the pockets hold a pair of brass knuckles, ridged and dangerous looking. The fit her amazingly well. A pair of whips is strapped to the belt as well, about six feet, six inches long, including the handles.

"I know you don't like guns." Bucky says. "I was gonna give these to you for your birthday, but you need them more right now." He takes one of the whips, pointing to a button on the handle. "If you push this, you can send an electric pulse down the strap."

"You were gonna give me weapons for my twentieth birthday?" Sonya says.

"What? You don't like 'em?"

"Are you kidding me?! I love them! It's just… weapons are a weird birthday present."

"I didn't have to get you anything, you know." He shoots back.

Sonya laughs. "Thanks." She leans into his shoulder, looping her arm through his. "Can I just ask… Why?"

Bucky looks fixedly at the opposite wall. "You remind me of my sister."

"You have a sister?!"

"Had. She's gone, now."

"Bucky… I'm so sorry!"

"Her name was Emily. She was 16 when I joined the army. A lot like Steve, actually. Tiny, spunky, wouldn't take no for an answer."

"What… What happened to her?" Sonya asks tentatively. "After the war? You don't have to answer=, if you don't want to…"

"Nah, it's fine." He replies. "She joined SHIELD. One of the first agents. She always wanted to be a hero, save other people…. She died while taking down a terrorist, saving over 500 people."

"That… That's amazing. Are you proud of her?"

"Very."

They sit in silence for a while, before Sonya blurts out, "I don't really have a family."

Bucky glances down at her. She's wringing her fingers. "I never knew my dad. He died from overdosing. My mom died when I was 10. She had me when she was just 16 when I was born. We lived with my grandparents for the first 6 years of my life."

"What happened?"

"A house fire. Mom and I were out, Mom at work –she was a nurse- I was at school. I was a smart kid. We came home to see nothing but rubble." Sonya looks up at the ceiling, swallowing hard, blinking back tears.

"You don't have to finish." Bucky tells her gently, putting his arm around her and pulling her close.

"No…" She replies. "I-I have to tell someone. It feels good to get it out." She rubs her nose. "Mom and I got an apartment, and things were better. I was smart, for a kid. Like, really smart. A prodigy. I was in 5th grade by the time I was six. I started feeling other people's pain then, too. It was scary, but Mom didn't really believe me. I mean, I was six! She couldn't have been expected to believe me…
"I got accepted into this special school for kids like me, I was diagnosed with Autism there. I loved it there. Mom was really proud of me. I was just starting 9th grade when Mom got in a car accident and died. My only living relative was my dad's dad, but Social Services couldn't find him for a long time I jumped around from foster home to foster home until I was 13. They found my grandfather, then. He… he was good to me. I got a scholarship to Cornell and began studying psychiatry. He died when I was eighteen. I was just finishing my 6th year of college. I've sort of floated around since. No one really wants to hire an 18 year old, even if she's graduated at the top of her class…"

"Then the subway thing happened."

She nods. "Then the subway thing happened… And here I am!"

"Life sucks." Bucky says.

"It sure does."

A/N: There! Enjoy! A little bit of Sonya/Pietro, parental!Tony/Sonya, and sibling!Bucky/Sonya. REVIEW, PLEASE! They really keep me going! ALSO! THE NEXT CHAPTERS WILL GET PROGRESSIVELY DARKER, SO READ WITH CAUTION!
I also UPDATED most of the earlier chapters, most notably chapter 2 and 3! So go check them out! I added quite a bit of important information, so make sure to take a look!