The Curse of Dr. Zola

Chapter 40

Mary cried in her room for hours after they'd left. How did mom make this work? I've got to find out! If I don't…. She couldn't continue.

Pierce's description of Shawn raping that other woman rang in her ears, and she was a super soldier, similar to Bucky and Steve. Mary knew she'd never survive being raped by him. She was only human. If his brutality caused a super soldier to pass out… Mary shuddered.

She sat cross legged on her bed and pulled up her gift slowly. She was at her best when she remained calm. She didn't have any training when it came to the stone, so she tried everything she could think of, without success.

Mary sighed. She thought about the past. How many times did mom try to get me to work on my training? How many times did I say no? The truth was that Mary didn't have the confidence she needed. Her mom wasn't the trainer she needed to be. Willa was more woman than agent, too soft, too caring. My grandmother was the real hard nose.

It may have been painful for Mary to admit, but in her heart, she felt she just wasn't good enough. She had always tried to deny her gifts, relying only on her human body to get things done. Had she any real training, she could have lifted James up out of the basement without all the aggravation she'd gone through, but, again, she tried to deny its existence.

She could've helped Bucky more on his escapades, but she didn't.

She could've helped more in NYC against the alien creatures, but she didn't.

As tears began to fall down her cheeks, the truth came to her, and the truth was, she was afraid.

Her childhood had been fraught with fear. Her mother taught her to be afraid, instead of teaching her how to be brave. She always let Bucky take the lead in their life together, well, almost always. She'd lied to herself a lot, thinking everything she did was for Bucky's benefit, when it was only to make herself more comfortable.

Bucky was the first man she ever really trusted, but still, there was a part of her she hadn't shared with him.

There had been boyfriends as she negotiated her way in her life, but no one she felt comfortable with. She was always afraid that her gift would crop up and ruin everything. This fear kept her relatively isolated and as a result, she never really learned the social graces her peers learned. Bucky certainly possessed them. The charmingly easy way about him made people feel instantly at home and comfortable.

When she had first encountered him, she instantly took the lead. He was so helpless, shaken, and scared, that some instinct in her just took over. She had never experienced this before.

All the many nights they had spent in tutoring sessions as she taught him all about his new world were a delight to her. She loved how his eyes lit up and how the smile spread across his face. She fell under his spell almost immediately.

She remembered the first time he had kissed her. He'd been so excited about something, and he just kissed her without thinking. She was so shocked that she'd pulled away in confusion. It broke her heart when the joy vanished from his face. He apologized immediately, but she insisted that it wasn't his fault, that it was her fault.

She knew already that she loved him, but when he kissed her, it just confused her. Even with her gifts, she didn't sense any of his growing feelings towards her. She had lied to herself again, thinking he'd never be interested, that no one could ever be interested in her.

Their relationship changed after that, and they grew closer.

He was so gentle with her, so patient, so thoughtful the first night he slept in her bed. She was so shy, but their nervous laughter broke the ice some. She couldn't help but laugh when he remarked that he hadn't done this in almost 70 years and that she might have to tutor him!

Then, in her mind, she saw the last image of his face, as he was on the ground and she stood on board the jet as it lifted off. The terrified lost puppy look on his face broke her heart, but she had to save him. She loved him so much that she was willing to sacrifice her own life to save him.

She looked down as a tear dripped from her face and she saw the stone glowing. Her breath caught. She'd done it! But how? How did I do it?

As Thor wound up his tale, Maria Hill entered the room again.

"Yes?"

"There's a Lady Sif, here."

"Ah, yes, Lady Sif from Asgard."

Maria ushered her in.

"Why are you here? Has something gone wrong?" Thor asked her

"Your father sent me. We haven't much time."

"What is she talking about?" Bucky asked.

Sif took a breath. "I have a location on the stone."

"On the stone? You can track the stone on Mary's necklace?"

"Yes. Did you not tell them about the stone, Thor?"

"Your woman has the stone?" Thor seemed as confused about the stone as Sif was about the woman who possessed it.

"We must hurry. It has been activated. We must go now before it is moved again."

Fury, Steve and Bucky geared up and met at the quin jet hangar. Lady Sif and Thor joined them. When Thor insisted he could fly on his own, he was over-ruled in favor of keeping in tight communication with one another. Since it was logical, Thor agreed.

They piled into the jet and Lady Sif gave the coordinates to the pilot, Maria Hill.

Once they all had buckled themselves in, the jet lifted off and stealth mode was engaged.

Steve patted Bucky on his knee and gave him a reassuring glance. Bucky nodded wordlessly, finally feeling hopeful about getting Mary back. She'd been gone almost two weeks, and knowing how much torture he'd endured the first two weeks, his stomach was full not of butterflies, but tiny, biting ants.

Mary sat and tried to remember anything of what her mother had told her about the stone. She thought well into the night. Exhausted, she finally had to submit to sleep.

She dreamt about the stone during the night, seeing images from places she'd never been, people she didn't know, and floating among the stars. It felt so real to her, like she was really there.

As dawn approached, she dreamt of abstract images that made no sense; a craggy-faced man whose skin was blue, a talking raccoon, and a tiny tree that didn't need dirt.

She was startled awake by Shawn wrenching her out of bed and tossing her over his shoulder. "Time to go!"

She heard gunfire, lots of gunfire in the distance down the hall. Shawn jogged the opposite way and met up with Pierce.

"Take her to the roof. I'm right behind you. Get that jet warmed up and ready to go. "

Shawn nodded and ran to the stairwell. Mary bounced up and down roughly on her stomach, and just tried to breathe. Shawn slammed open the door to the roof only to be confronted by Fury, Sif and Bucky. They stood between the jet and the door.

Shawn slowly lowered her to the ground. "If you stop me, I will kill her where she stands." He clutched her throat tightly. Mary clawed at his hand, desperate to breathe, and tried to keep her balance on her tip-toes.

"If you hurt her in any way, you won't leave here alive." Bucky countered back.

Shawn just smiled. "It wouldn't bother me a bit to kill her; in fact, it would be so easy for me to just snap her neck."

"I'm asking you to just let her go."

"No. You will let me pass, and get into the jet."

"If you let her go, you can pass unharmed."

Shawn just shook his head. "The girl goes with me. She was promised to me. She is my reward and I intend to take her. If she's still alive after I'm done, I'll take her again."

Bucky turned red with anger at the implication. He vowed that Mary would not be sullied by him.

"They should have kept you, Barnes, that way you could have watched."

Bucky screamed with rage, and bolted forward.

He only got a few steps before Thor flew in from the other direction and knocked Shawn and Mary down.

Shawn got to his feet quickly, and met Bucky hand to hand. The two men struggled as Mary rolled away. She coughed violently, and tried to suck in air.

Fury covered the jet while Sif picked Mary up effortlessly and pulled her away from danger.

She watched in horror as Bucky and Shawn fought furiously. Both men were skilled at their trades. But Bucky was fighting for something, Shawn fought because he was trained to.

Every blow Bucky endured made Mary's heart lurch in her chest, but he didn't stop trying to fight back.

Fury aimed his gun at the combatants as Thor came to a landing, but they were in too close proximity to each other.

Pierce burst onto the roof, took one look and decided it was best if he left; except that Steve and Maria Hill now blocked his way back. He struck out at Maria first, knocking her backwards. Before Steve could step in, Fury put three bullets into him.

As he fell to the ground, he whispered two words. "Hail, HYDRA."

Gunfire erupted from the open doorway, and Steve dove one way, while Maria dove in the opposite direction.

Thor deflected most of the bullets as he flew to the doorway. Behind him, all he heard were the grunts and groans of the two men in combat. Unfortunately, he missed one. It struck Bucky in his right leg and he went down. Shawn pressed his advantage and kicked him. Bucky howled in pain.

Thor flung his hammer at Shawn, but Shawn was too quick, and it missed, tumbling to the floor.

Sif went to reach for it, even knowing in the back of her mind that she wouldn't be able to lift it, but another hand got to it first.

Without thinking, Mary picked up the hammer and ran with it towards Shawn, amidst a hail of bullets.

Bucky was on his back and tried to roll away from Shawn. Shawn sensed victory as he stomped down hard on Bucky's leg. Bucky screamed.

As Shawn prepared to stomp again, he belatedly sensed someone coming up behind him. As he turned, Mary swung Thor's hammer for all she was worth. The stone glowed bright orange as she connected. All her focus was behind the hammer, all her love radiating out for the man on the ground.

Shawn stumbled backwards awkwardly. He tried to keep his balance as his feet shuffled on the roof, but he couldn't. As he tilted wildly over the edge of the roof, he remembered where he'd seen her face before. It had the same shape and features of a little blond boy that he'd been sent to kill almost 50 years ago.

He disappeared out of sight, soundlessly.

Mary fell to her knees beside Bucky and flung herself on top of him.