A dream filled with endless fluffy cats and as many triple layer chocolate cakes that I could devour was interrupted by a persistent knocking. Not on any sort of door, because my prison did not allow for such easy escape routes. This sound was located in my head and I didn't need a peephole to know who was requesting entrance to my brain. I sent Menzel a mental finger and drew one of my dream kitties into my lap where he greedily proceeded to lick at my cake icing. The harmless knocking transformed into a shrill siren; she was no longer asking.
I lurched awake, sending my covers in a cascade to the floor. The blood drained from my head and as I sat trying to orient myself, she slipped in.
"You ready to get out of here?" Menzel's voice sang.
"You've gotten me into enough trouble already, bitch," I grumbled out loud.
"You did that of your own volition. We have been caged here over a week. Don't you think it time, we get some fresh air? You do miss the open skies don't you? Tired of feeling like your slowly suffocating every day?" It wasn't her words that swayed me. It was what I felt the first time I encountered her after the transition into my powers; it was what drew me out of the hiding place beside Sam all those weeks ago and what yanked me from bed now. She had a barbed wire in my heart and was unafraid to yank it to elicit her desired reaction from me.
When initially glancing out the glass, only my own reflection met my gaze: a woman with an anchor dragging down her shoulders and half moons of bruises under her eyes. I was not getting enough sleep as is and it became apparent Menzel was intent on lessening that number even more so. A thick blob of curly hair twisted into a braid down my back and my clothes fit a bit more snugly than they had on Monday—Sam was the resident cook and he brought down far too many servings for me to work off in this confined space.
Another footstep closer redirected the light and allowed me to peer out into the room. Menzel blew a kiss and kicked her golden sneaker against the control panel. An explosion of sparks followed and smoke curled up towards the ceiling, but no alarms sounded.
"How…"
"No Earth prison can hold me. I just had to rebuild my strength. That man of iron packs a good punch. Let's go." She was leading the way and my body was dragged along in her current. I seized Sam's jacket, shrugging it over my thin tank top. We would either make it out of here in one piece of be carried out in a dozen.
Already I could feel my lungs expanding, taking in all the non-restricted oxygen they could handle, probably more. We treaded silently up the stairs, daring only to let controlled pants fill the quiet. Any exchange of words would likely bring down the wrath of this entire building on us. Menzel waved me back while she scouted out a cross roads ahead. Best the Avengers remain asleep and find only empty cells when the sun rose. An almost imperceptible nod affirmed that all the paths were clear. We continued straight for another few feet until a t intersection slowed us. Menzel pointed down, indicating that I should stay put while she checked for potential threats. I slid down to rest against the short haired carpet, sucking in a slow steadying breath. Faint light lit the hallway from above, their bigger brothers already sleeping for the night. I wished I could be like them. Return to sleep and wake up back home, back on the beach in my father's arms.
But when my eyes opened, I saw only the empty corridor ahead, void even of Menzel's form. Not a heartbeat after she disappeared around the left corner, Menzel's body was airborne, flying past me from the hallway I was moments away from following her down. Shit, did Stark have a guard dog she had failed to detect with her super-alien abilities? Menzel did not rise. A shadow flitted across the wall, massive and foreboding as it loomed closer. I backed away until I came across the four-way junction again. Backwards led down to the containment level; I would not be returning there. Left led further into the compound and right to a balcony. I could do with some fresh air.
I sprinted for the locked glass doors, hurling my shoulder against them. They scarcely rattled in their frames. I dropped the air pressure, causing the glass to shatter in a spray of shards that scraped along my bare face. Not an alarm went off. At least Menzel had done her job disabling every layer of the security system. The explosion of glass, however, was loud enough to wake even the heaviest of sleepers; time was the only factor now. That, and the semi truck of a man I could hear crunching after me in the debris
Before I could take a step, an arm seized the back of Sam's jacket. I slipped out of the roomy fabric, rolling out onto the terrace. Though it was in the wee hours before sunrise, New York still brimmed with activity. Sounds of car horns and grouchy travelers floated up from the streets and the blaring city lights briefly blinded my dark accustomed eyes. I didn't see the fist coming for my downward cast face but I felt the air pushed violently out of its path; I heard the exhalation of breath as the action began. Sending a blast of air at the guard, I knocked his feet from beneath him. What kind of guard came to work dressed in plaid pajama bottoms and a Yankees sweatshirt? Where were his shoes? What his house slippers lacked in traction, they made up for in comfort; I hoped he was cozy there flat on his back.
The kick placed to the center of my chest stung just fractionally less than if he'd been wearing combat boots, backed by a steely amount of strength from his body I had no desire to experience again. I reeled, back slamming into the metal terrace railing. Pain licked up my spine and crackled down to my limbs like a white hot jolt of lightning. As I struggled to ward off the numbness from my arms and legs the grounded man fought with the jacket that had become draped and hopelessly entangle over his face.
With my teeth grinding down into my cheeks for even the smallest sensation, I fought off the swarms of ants crawling through my limbs as feeling returned and climbed to straddle the guard railing. The drop from this level of the building was dozens of stories deep but the cool air wrapped around me comfortingly, promising to ease my fall. One of my sneakers hung over the edge, the untied laces dangling in the breeze waiting for the rest of my body to join it. I would be fine once I jumped, first I just had to convince my knuckles to let go. Once I ran away, I would never be able to stop. The Avengers would never believe my story.
"Wait!" The man got to his feet quiet as an assassin, and his voice cut through the air with equally deadly accuracy. It struck its target and had the intended effect: tranquility.
I relaxed unintentionally because I recognized the speaker. I turned, finding Bucky racing towards me, oblivious to the glass shard cutting through the thin soles protecting his feet. My hands forgot their job as disbelief overwhelmed me. How was he in this country? Was this another of Menzel's mind games?
The free fall hit me a second before his metal arm closed over my wrist. His grip was fleeting, too loose to prevent gravity from snatching me away from him.
"No!" he shouted, bracing his hands against the barrier as horror washed over his face. It went slack as he watched me hover midair. I manipulated the air to carry me up and back over to brace my feet against the concrete overhang. My hands slid over his, and I smiled warily. The careless wind carried his long hair into his face, so I stopped it to properly look at him. Thick eyelashes enveloped narrowed blue eyes. His pink lips were pressed into a tight line and a baffled dimple was displayed on his chin. "Didn't know you could do that," he breathed, soft, relieved, suspicious.
"Didn't know you were here," I replied.
"You weren't supposed to. Neither is Tony, for that matter. So if he shows up, I'm still in Wakanda."
"Help me back over this banister, Sarg?"
His jaw relaxed, allowing his mouth to precariously pull up to one side. He removed his hands from beneath mine and placed them firmly, professionally against my hips. He hoisted me back over as if I weighed nothing more than the air I controlled. "Weren't you trying to escape?" He nodded towards the empty night.
"I didn't ask to be broken out," I told him. "And I was running from the scary freaky ass security guard I assumed you were."
"Pretty sure we agreed you'd stay out of trouble until I could visit," Bucky said.
I laughed, briefly wondering why his thumbs were rubbing against my waist. "You took too damn long."
His head was inclined towards me, sending my heart into a steady gallop to keep the blush present in my cheeks. It was entirely possible he had gotten more beautiful since our last encounter, and even more possible that I had grown even more attached.
We heard a safety click off at the same moment. Bucky shoved me behind him as the assembled team squared off against me along the glassless door's opening. Natasha wore only blank panties and a matching camisole, but the gleam on her twin hand guns seemed somehow more intimidating with her bed head. Steve was behind her with only sweatpants and his shield.
"Did she escape?" Steve asked, sleep making his voice nothing more than a rasp.
I peeped out waving a cautious hand. "Wasn't my plan. I was just trying not to get killed by anyone." I called.
"What happened here?" Natasha demanded as Scott and Sam skidded up behind them. Both parties wore boxers and held no weapons save for the stuffed dolphin in Scott's hands; they could have been sleep walking for all I could tell.
"What she said," Bucky muttered. "I was just up getting water when I ran across them. Took out Menzel. Me and Haven had a bit of a misunderstanding. But it's sorted now."
Scott looked down at the glass, sweeping a pile away with his ninja turtles slippers. "Misunderstanding. Right," he said.
Natasha tapped her ear. "Stand down, Barton, Maximoff."
A clatter came from the roof as the pair shifted their lethal positions. Clint unnotched his arrow and returned it to its sheath. The red magic vanished from Wanda's hands. While all threats were dropped, not a soul relaxed.
"So what now?" Sam asked.
Steve sighed, rubbing his skewed hair back with the hand not defending his torso from my potential attack. "Both cells are broken. Keep Menzel sedated until Tony can come in the morning. I guess, get the cuff for Rosales."
Sam nodded and jogged off back into the compound. Clint jumped down from his bird's eye position and tugged his flannel shirt close against the penetrating cold. "I'm not buying the innocent victim card. I don't know why Barnes is," Clint said.
"Schwartz will explain when we get there," Bucky said calmly.
Steve nodded slowly, clapping a trusting hand on his friend's shoulder before letting those walled off blue eyes descend on me. He didn't say anything, just studied me. I didn't know who Schwartz was or why the name was so instantly accepted, but I was glad no one was attempting to decapitate me at the moment.
Returning with something clasped in his hand, Sam paused to pluck up his abused jacket from the ground. "Well, damn, I don't want this back anymore. What wood chipper did you run it through?"
I couldn't tell if he was being intentionally harsh or if it was meant to be a joke because he helped me into it before gripping my right wrist harshly. "We were going to move you tomorrow anyway, so we had this ready. Like a probation tracker only worse. Don't try anything stupid." Sam clipped on a glowing blue bracelet into place. My arm dropped like dead weight to slam against my thigh. "Since your containment is broken, you'll have to stay the night in one of our rooms. Take your pick."
"Where are we going tomorrow?" I asked. "Schwartz?"
"My room it is, then." Natasha grabbed my arm, hauling me down the hall.
Anyone else would have been preferable, Bucky's would have been a goddamn dream, but her grip was already bruising and I didn't want to provoke it to bone crushing levels. Natasha would no doubt leave me with even more questions than I started with, so I kept silent for my own sanity. She threw me down onto her Queen sized bed and pulled up a chair where she plopped down. Slim legs propped against the mattress as she plucked up a book with the title written in Russian from her nightstand.
"You're not sleeping?" I questioned.
"Not likely," she said.
"I can't sleep with you watching me all creepy like that."
"Long night ahead for both of us then."
What a reunion! I'm glad i finally got Bucky back on the scene. Anyone else currently drowning in school?