"Dr Cho" Steve ran to the injured Doctor and held a cloth over her wound.
"He's uploading himself into the body" Helen told us and I took her hand.
"Where?" I asked.
"The real power is inside the cradle. The gem, its power is uncontainable. You can't just blow it up, you have to get the cradle to Stark" she explained and I looked to Steve.
"First I have to find it" he told her.
"Go" I told Steve. "I've got her." Steve got up and left in search of Ultron and the cradle. I looked back to Helen.
"The medical supplies are-" she started.
"First I'm going to take away the pain, then I'll worry about the cut on your shoulder" I told her and felt the pain draw over to me, she was in a lot of pain, it was overwhelming. I let go of her hand and gasped for air.
"The pain is gone, thank you" Helen said.
"Where did you say those medical supplies were?" I asked. I was trying to ignore the pain that I'd absorbed, it was dulling ever so slowly because the wound was not mine but I was finding it hard to focus, especially with the team talking in my ear. I found the medical supplies and walked back over to Helen and patched up her shoulder before going to find Steve and Natasha, who was apparently in the truck.
I watched as a rogue train came to a stop in the street and I ran to the front to see the two kids who had temporarily taken apart the Avengers.
"I'm fine. I just need to take a minute" Pietro said as he sat down.
"I'm very tempted not to give you one" Steve said as he walked up to them.
"The cradle, did you get it?" I asked.
"Stark will take care of it" Steve said.
"No he won't" Wanda said. I watched Pietro look between his sister and Steve.
"You don't know what you're talking about. Stark's not crazy."
"He will do anything to make things right" Wanda told him. Steve hesitated before going on comms.
"Stark come in. Stark? Anyone on comms?" Steve asked.
"Ultron can't tell the difference between saving the world and destroying it, where do you think he gets that?" Wanda asked.
"I'm going to say this once-" Steve started.
"How about nonce?" Tony asked.
"Shut it down" Steve told them.
"Nope, not gonna happen" Tony said as kept walking around the lab.
"You don't know what you're doing?" I told him.
"And you do? She's not in your head?" Bruce asked, pointing to Wanda.
"I know you're angry-" Wanda said, stepping out from behind Steve.
"Oh, we're way past that, I could choke the life out of you and not even change a shade" Bruce told her.
"Banner, after everything that's happened-" Steve started.
"It's nothing compared to what's coming" Tony said.
"You don't know what you're doing" Wanda yelled. I noticed Pietro looking bored and I read his mind.
'This is simple'.
"This isn't a game" Steve said and then Pietro ran around the cradle ripping the cords away.
"No, no. Go on. You were saying?" Pietro said and I tried to hide my smile. A gunshot went off and Pietro fell down a level.
"Pietro" Wanda called out.
"What? You didn't see that coming?" Clint asked with a smirk. Machines started beeping and Tony walked over to a computer.
"I'm re-routing the upload" he said. Steve threw his shield at the computer and Tony used the hand of his suit to fire at Steve who was knocked on his ass from the blast. Tony summoned the back and the chest plate of his suit and Banner grabbed Wanda in a chokehold from behind.
"Go ahead, piss me off" he challenged. Clint came upstairs with his gun raised, and Steve ran at Tony and went to punch him, but Tony blasted them both backwards with his suit. Wanda pushed her magic through her chest to get Banner away from her then blasted him again to knock him on his ass. Thor then showed up and jumped on the cradle, summoning lightning.
"Wait" Banner called out. Thor aimed the lightning at the cradle and a blast knocked Thor backwards onto the floor and the body from the cradle was crouched on the edge of the cradle.
"What is that" I asked. The body from the cradle tried to attack Thor but he threw the body towards the window but it stopped just before it went through. I watched as the Avengers walked over to the thing but I stayed in place, feeling a sudden overwhelming feeling of pain. I gasped and clutched at my chest and Pietro noticed.
"Are you okay" he asked, walking over to me. Steve looked over and then came to check on me.
"Maddie" Steve said. "Is it him?"
"Yeah, I think so" I nodded.
"Go. We can take care of Ultron" Steve told me but I shook my head.
"I'm of more use here. I can help" I argued.
"If someone else needs your help then you should go. We can handle this" Pietro added. I looked between them and gave in.
"Call me if you need me" I told Steve before walking over to Tony. "Please don't get into any more trouble while I'm gone" I pleaded.
"Where are you going" he asked.
"Bucky needs me" I said and then turned and left.
The flight felt like it went on forever before I landed in Bucharest. I called Bucky using the burner phone I'd gotten and listened to it ring.
"Lanie?" he answered. I let out a breath I didn't realise I'd been holding.
"Thank God. I had a bad feeling about you. I'm here in Bucharest. Meet me at the marketplace" I told him.
"I'll be there soon" he said and hung up. It wasn't long before I was at the marketplace. I walked around while I waited, looking at each of the stands.
"Would you like to buy a bracelet Miss?" A little girl asked me and I smiled at her and knelt down to her level.
"That's a very pretty bracelet. Will five dollars do?" I asked and handed her the note. She took it and handed me the bracelet.
"Thank you." She ran back towards another woman who hugged her.
"That was sweet." I stood up and turned to see Bucky behind me with a smile on his face.
"She's cute" I said. "How are you?"
"I'm trying to get through this. Trying to remember who I was before Hydra wiped my mind" he replied.
"Can I help?"
"You can try" he said and took my hand, leading me back to his place.
The room was almost bare. There was; a bed with only a sleeping bag, a fridge, and a dining table. I sat on the bed and crossed my legs, closing my eyes to focus. I felt the bed shift beside be as Bucky sat down beside me.
"What are you doing" he asked.
"I'm trying to tune you out. Your thoughts are very draining" I said, my eyes sill closed.
'I never wanted to see you hurt'. I opened my right eye to watch him and he smiled. I opened my other eye and smiled.
"You're distracting" I said. "What do you remember about us?" I asked. He leant forwards and kissed me.
"I remember a lot of that" he said and then kissed my jaw. "And this." He kissed down my neck. "And this."
"I get your point" I said and playfully shoved him off. He smiled and I leant my head on his metal shoulder. "Does it hurt?" I asked as I sat up again, referring to the metal.
"It's heavy, and very sensitive to temperature. Sometimes it pinches the skin at my shoulder" he told me.
"So when they put you in cryo, the metal would be freezing. When they brought you out – how long did it stay cold for?" I asked. I could feel the tears forming behind my eyes. He never deserved this.
"Hours." He held his shoulder subconsciously.
"What else do you remember about when Hydra was using us?"
"I remember when Hydra brought you in. I remember hearing you screaming while they experimented on you. I remember you using your ability to bring my memories back. I remember the day you left, when you knocked me out with Hydra's coding" he listed and I looked to my hands.
"I'm sorry I just left you there."
"You had to get out, I understand that. You couldn't bear for them to keep using you" he said, taking my hands in his flesh one.
"It's not just the powers, James. They – they used me in other ways" I said as the tears began to roll down my cheeks. He pulled me against him and kissed my forehead.
"I'm so sorry. I should've protected you" he said.
"You couldn't help me" I said between sobs. I pulled away from him and he met my eyes. "I'm gonna go clean up" I said and wiped the tears with the back of my hand while I walked to the bathroom. I closed the door and leant over the sink, trying to control my empathy ability. His guilt, his pain; it was overwhelming. I took a deep breath and slowly released it, picturing the power leaving me. I did that a few times and then washed my face and walked back over to Bucky, who was writing in a journal. He looked up when he heard the door open.
"I'm sorry" he said. "You could feel it, couldn't you?" he asked.
"Yeah. Sometimes I forget that you have a lot more pain than Steve" I said. "Living with Steve and Tony, I ended up finding a few crystals for them to carry around so I couldn't read them."
"How is Steve" Bucky asked.
"He misses his best friend. He's got a lot on his plate" I said. "You now Peggy is in a retirement home? Steve never got a chance to go on a date with her." Bucky looked up at me.
"I remember her, faintly, but I do remember" he said. "After Steve got us out of Hydra, she was there." I nodded and walked around the place, seeing how he'd set up.
"This place is bare" I noted.
"Makes it easier if I have to run" he said.
"Do you want to run?"
"No. But I might have to one day."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry for the delay. I'm hoping to get back to writing this one but I'm not so sure. It may end up on hiatus