A/N:

Warning: This chapter is dark! Mentions of abuse, torture, human experimentation and death


I was pretty sure that my mouth now hung wide open. What just happened? Did she just send a book flying over my head? How? Was she a new type of super soldier?

Arrow, face started to split into a very large bright smile. She was clearly amused by my confusion. She chuckled lightly, "You should your face. Are you alright?"

I might have remained frozen for a few more moments, but I couldn't tell, "How did you do that?!"

Arrow flinched back at my shout, "Okay good I didn't break you," she mumbled to herself, "Uhm, I have aerokinesis."

Like that helps me, "You have what?"

"That means that I can mentally manipulate the movement of the atmosphere or air around my figure."

I raised my eyebrow.

"I can control wind," she deadpanned.

"Oh."

"Do you believe me, or do I need to book thing again?" Arrow asked.

I rubbed my eyes, and ran my hand down my face, "You might, so I can be sure I wasn't seeing things."

"You weren't hallucinating, I can tell you that much."

"At this point, after everything, I really shouldn't be that shocked. Yet I am," I leaned back into the pillow, and sighed.

"No, you have a right to be surprised. Your reaction is actually a lot calmer compared to most normal people."

"So, you're not normal for the future?"

She sighed, "No," she looked at the floor, "Sadly we are the minority."

"We? So, there's more of you. Wow, they must have made some great leaps in the super-soldier program."

"Program?"

"Yeah, you have to be the creation of some kind of experiment. Like Cap," I looked at her, only to see that her face darkened with an unrecognizable emotion, "Right?"

"Well, some of us, like my sister, might be products of madmen. But I'm not. I was born this way."

I stared at her, completely confused. But waited for her to continue.

A sad but passionate smile appeared on her face, "I'm what you call a mutant. Or a naturally superpowered individual. And my people were not product of some kind of science experiment, well not all of us at least," her smile dimmed, until it became small frown, "Many of us gained their gifts through pain, too many," she whispered, before taking a deep breath, and speaking up, "But we still persist through our lives."

"How? How could you have powers like that?"

"How we came to be, you mean? Not even we know. But we aren't a recent thing. I can't say for sure that my people predate your Captain America."

"Really? Then how come no one has seen you before?"

"When people seeing something different, something unknown. They tend to get scared, and act out of fear. You haven't seen my people because, it's too dangerous for us to show ourselves."

Dangerous? What could be so dangerous about having powers, that could save thousands of lives? "Why? If you're like Cap and save lives, then people shouldn't want to hurt you."

She sighed and shook her head, "The reason that people loved the captain so much is because the people with power, made him, marketed him and selected him for the job. Those people were told that they could trust him, they were told that he was America's hero. His actions just cemented that claim. We don't have that type of backing, and some of us," she sighed, "Their gifts led them down a dark road. So we're easily painted as the bad guys in a lot of different stories. And that can cost us many, many lives."

"It can't be that bad."

She sighed, "You won't understand until you've seen it."

"Seen what?"

"Look, all will be explained once you're well. Right now, all you need to understand is that, we've been here, but we keep to our shadows and out of sight."

"I still kind of find that hard to believe."

"Who do you think the Greeks mistook for gods? Who do you think were the witches from the medieval times? Make no mistake Bucky Barnes, we were always here," she opened the book and sat back down in her chair.

I looked back into my soup bowl and continued to slowly eat. My mind was reeling from this information. Naturally occurring super people? We sure could've used them in the war. Arrow was defiantly clear on the fact that they had been around for a long time. Why didn't they come and help their country? Then again, I didn't really know where Arrow is from. Her accent sounded American, but she also spoke another language so she could have just been taught English by one with an American accent.

She said her people were too scared. Sure, people could be fool by false information, but truth always came out eventually. Accidents happen, and people die, but would they really blame a 16-year-old that can make the wind blow? They have been hiding for centuries. What are they so scared of? It's not like they're being hunted down, right?

I didn't get a chance to finish that thought. A sharp sting pain seized was left of my torn arm. I dropped the spoon and gripped the stub. My breath hitched, with a sudden agonized gasp. And the room suddenly felt much colder than before. I grit my teeth and shut my eyes, when I started to shiver.

"Shush, just breathe. You're alright."

I snapped open at the voice. Arrow had come over and pulled me into a loose embrace. Her hands were on my shoulders, carefully placed as not to disturb my wounds, as she half sat on my bed. My shivering slowed to a stop, as a soothing warmth enveloped me, and the pain slowly subsided. It felt really nice, not hot, but warm. Though it didn't feel like normal body heat. Arrow wasn't that close to me, and the warmth had craddled my entire body, not just the parts she was physically touching.

"You, okay?" Arrow asked.

I nodded, "Yeah," I swallowed, "I'm good."

Arrow pulled away from me, as I sighed shakily.

"What happened?"

"Most likely phantom limb syndrome. It's a common symptom of an amputation. I've seen it happen with my uncle," she explained.

"Is it supposed to still hurt?"

"In some cases, it can. sometimes weeks after the actual amputation, I think, but don't take my word for it. I'm not an expert," Arrow said, sitting back down in her chair.

"Weeks?! It can take that long?" I sighed and leaned back into the pillow, "How long have I been out?"

"You mean since we found you? Or since you're since your incident?"

"Since you found me. I already know it's been over 7 decades; I'll just add the time you tell to that number."

"About a week. The first time you woke up it was around 0300 hours the day after we found you."

"Was that when Taiga pulled the tube out of my throat?"

"No, that was the second time you woke up, which was two days later, around 1400 hours."

"What was the first time I woke up?"

"In the middle of the night, I was checking up on you and you woke up and started to cough up blood. Scariest thing I had seen in a while."

"Oh, gosh. I'm sorry about that."

"Don't be. Your body was just responding to the internal bleeding. You couldn't have stopped it. Besides I don't think you were really there at the time."

I nodded, understanding what she meant, before a strange thought came to me, "What were you doing up at 0300 hours?"

"Oh, I couldn't sleep, so I did a rough patrol. Checking on you, the little ones and the other places in the base."

"Little ones?"

Her eyes widened, as if she said something that she shouldn't have, "Um…I can't tell you that."

"What? Why?"

"I'm not…I haven't been given word by my clan leader. I can't tell you," She mumbled.

"Clan Leader? What Clan?"

Arrow stood up, and started to clear my finished meal, "I'm sorry, but you wouldn't understand."

And she left me alone with my confusion. The only sound left in my room was the beeping.


The next few days, Dr. McClain kept taking my vitals, and helped me recover. Taiga was often with us too. Apparently, he was part of a medic program and while he had earned his mask, he still had to shadow an experienced medic for a few years. I managed to ask them a few questions, but other than what mutant powers they had, I didn't get much more information.

Dr. McClain was an empath, which means she can feel other people emotions, but she made it very clear that she didn't read minds. She said I was thinking of a telepath, which is apparently something completely different.

Taiga, was something called a Photosinsite. I didn't really understand what that was, but he explained that he could communicate and control plants. Which did explain why there were so many plants kept in the med-bay and how they were all still alive.

But when they weren't here, I was alone. Alone with my own thoughts, I usually tried to sleep during these times, but it wasn't easy. I was left alone to my thoughts, and not all of them were positive. My mind just kept going back to all the people I knew. What happened to all the Howling Commandos? Were they all dead? Did they have some kind of memorial for Cap? If they did, I would like to visit it; get to give a final goodbye. I still hadn't been told the details of his death.

Though, these weren't my only thoughts. It was during one of these alone periods, that I was thinking about, Arrow. I hadn't seen her since the day we met. She left rather quickly, and was clearly troubled. Did I say something that upset her? I hope I didn't. She was really nice, and talkative. And I still had so many questions for her, sure I asked Taiga and Dr. McClain, but their answers were still cryptic, and didn't really help me understand what was going on. While, Arrow's may have been cryptic, she still explained things to me a bit better.

The sound of the door, opening drew my attention away from my mind. I looked over the entry, expecting to see Dr. McClain, or Taiga. But the person who entered was…Christin. He was wearing a blue mask that had red lining the edges. Was he wearing that before?

Christin gave me a friendly smile, that made his whole face move, "Well, you're looking better, aren't you?" he walked over to the nearby chair and sat down, "I'm sorry I haven't come by sooner. I had to inform main base why we will be late on our return trip."

"It's fine, sir," I answered, I had heard Dr. McClain Talk about reporting to Christin, making me deduce that he was in charge. Meaning he probably has the authority to kick me out of this place, and I wasn't going to offend him.

"You don't need to call me sir, son. I don't really like to be too formal."

"Okay…What should I call you then?"

"Well, Christin just fine."

"Okay…Christin."

He raised one of his greying brows, "You can stop looking like a deer in headlights I'm not going to hurt you. This isn't an interrogation."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to check up on you. I thought you might want to talk. I know how lonely it can get during recovery. And to give you a bath."

"Thank you for that sir…um…Christin. It is kind of quiet…Wait what?"

He laughed, "Kid feel your head. You haven't taken a bath since we found you. Your hair needs to be washed."

Curiosity got the better of me, and I reached up and rubbed my head. My hair felt gross. Slimy and stuck together in clumps. I could feel the grim on my hand after I pulled it away.

I guess I must have made a disgusted face, because Christin started laughing, "Yeah, don't even try smelling your hand kid, trust me. I went two weeks on an extraction, and couldn't take a shower for the whole time. My wife didn't let me anywhere in the house but the bathroom when I got back."

I chuckled at that, "Well, can you tell me where the showers are?"

"Let me get your chair and I'll help you there," Christin said, getting up to grab what I guess was a wheelchair.

"No, you don't have to get that, I can get there. I don't need help," I quickly said.

"Bucky, I'm going to tell you the truth. I'm not going to sugarcoat. I'm not going water it down. You just lost your arm, and your ankle is still shattered. You can't do this by yourself, not yet at least. It's okay to ask for help."

I sighed shakily. As much as I wanted too, I couldn't have done it myself. But I wanted to be clean more than being embarrassed.

Christin helped me to the bathroom on the base which was just across the hall thankfully. So, we didn't meet anyone on route there. When we got there the tub, which was a circular pool in the floor, was already filled with steaming water. Christin helped me into the water, which felt good on my skin after being the cold air of the underground base. The steam even helped open up my airways. I was worried that my wounds would sting but thankfully, the minor cuts were all scabbed over by now, and my castes are apparently water proof.

"You good?" Christin asked.

"Yeah," I nodded.

"Not too hot, not too cold?"

"No, I'm okay."

"Alright," he mumbled as he stepped away, going towards a cabinet, "You have any soap preferences? Scents? Allergies?"

I shook my head, "No, I don't think so. I just used whatever soap they had at the camp."

"Alright then, I hope my daughters won't mind me using their brand," he said walking back over to me.

"You have children?" I asked. Maybe talking could distract me.

"Yep, six. Three boys. Three girls."

"Wow. You and your wife wanted a big family?"

Christin popped the cap on one of the bottles he had brought over and squeezed that what I guess was shampoo into his hand, "Not originally. Kids weren't really part of our plan. Not that our plan was a very detailed one. But when we found, Taiga, we knew that we were meant to be his parents. His siblings followed a few years after," he started to rubbed the shampoo into my hair; it felt cold.

"Wait, you're Taiga's dad?" I asked.

"Yep, me and my wife adopted him, when he was only a couple weeks old."

"Really?"

"Yep, actually only two of my kids are biologically mine. The other four are all adopted."

"That's pretty selfless."

"Nah, it was just my job. Those kids were most likely the ones that wouldn't find another family. No one else was going to take their challenge," he grabbed a nearby plastic cup, "Alright lean back we don't want this to get into your eyes."

I listened, and leaned back. Christin scooped water from the pool and poured it onto my head. I flinched. I didn't want this weird herbal smelling future soap in my eyes.

"What do you mean by challenge?" I asked.

"You mean the challenge of taking in my kids?"

I wanted to nodded but he was still pouring water into my hair.

Christin luckily continued, "My daughter explained that we aren't really…normal, right?"

"Arrow, did. Wait, daughter? Are you Arrow's father?" I asked.

"Yep. Don't be so scared, she's only half of me."

"Can you answer my question?" I was now a little worried. Christin was Arrow's father. He was the father of the girl I had somehow upset a few days ago. I really hoped he didn't hear about how she got quiet and left.

"Okay, but don't worry you didn't hurt her," he put more shampoo in my hair for some reason, "Us mutants, are kind of like a blind draw. You can never truly predict what powers a kid will have. You can look at family history, and make a pretty good guess, but there's always a chance that the kid will surprise you. Some powers are a little harder to handle than others, and babies," he sighed and chuckled, "Babies and toddlers are the worst when their mutants. Have you ever tried to bath a toddler but when you try to dry them off the towel catches fire?"

I started laughing at that.

"Our powers while connected with age, are also connected to our mental and emotional states. If your unstable in one or both those areas, your powers are as well. And troubled children are those most difficult to handle, because they're young, meaning them and their power are still growing, they're scared, meaning everything is unstable. Sure, mutant families know how to raise mutant kids, but only those who are willing to go the distance will take those children in, and so few are willing."

"You're talking like there's a lot of mutant orphans. Is there?"

Christin sighed, before scooping up water in the cup again, "Bucky, the one thing you can count on with us mutants is that were unpredictable. Sometimes kids from completely normal families develop powers, and they don't know what to do. Sometimes the kids run off, other times the parents try to help, but it usually ends in one of two ways. Either, we or someone like us get to the kid first, or they get trapped in the Mutant trafficking system."

"Mutant trafficking system?" I leaned back.

"In recent years, mutants have become more known."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"In ways it's good, in ways it's bad. It's good because it means that our people know that they aren't completely alone, that they aren't the only freaks of this world. It's bad because it means psychos know about us. And they see opportunities."

"What kind of opportunities?"

"You know how excited everyone was when Captain America first stepped onto the scene?" he grabbed a different bottle and squeezed an ivory-colored cream into his hand.

"You think I could forget? What is that?" I asked, as he rubbed it into my hair.

"It's called conditioner. An invention of the future. It makes you hair strong, soft and shiny. Now I'm going to get back on topic.

"After Captain America…fell. People were waiting for another hero. Someone who they could believe in. They tried to recreate formulas to make said another hero, but it only ended in the loss of a bunch of innocent lives," he sighed, "When mutants became more public knowledge…"

"They saw an opportunity, to make a new hero," I finished for him.

"No, they saw an opportunity to make a weapon. So, they started kidnapping people out of their lives, and tried to turn them into weapons. Trying amplify their powers and lower their autonomy through experimentation. But there was a problem. They were using adults. Adults were harder to break down and build up as weapons. Because they had lives, something to fight back for. A lot of those people died fighting back. So, they switched to taking kids. Kids were easier to break. Raising them from a young age to be what they wanted them to be. It took longer but they didn't have to kill as many subjects this way.

"Leave this stuff in your hair for a minute."

I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. They we're taking kids and forcing them to become weapons. How could he talk about this so easily, "How could someone do that?"

"Money, power, knowledge. The human race can be destructive."

"Is this why, Dr. McClain, warned me that people around here might not like cap? He kicked all this off?"

"It's one of the reasons, kiddo."

I shook my head, "How young are some of the kids?"

"Everywhere from pre-k, to high school. Though there are worse cases."

"Worse cases?"

"Like I said before, me and my wife found Taiga when he was a baby. He was in the system. While children do develop powers. Now, it is extremely rare for a newborn infant, to develop powers. It is nearly impossible to tell if a child that young will develop powers."

"Nearly?"

"We know how to test for it. The normal people don't."

"Then how they did know?"

"Because they had his birth mom, and she was one of us. Our theory was that, she was either pregnant when they nabbed her, or she got pregnant in the system, and didn't survive the birth."

If I wasn't already sick to my stomach I sure was now. Taiga seemed like a perfectly normal guy, besides him talking to plants. How could he be the product of something so horrible? How could people let this happen? Could be the cause of this?

"Who does this?" I asked.

"You mean the people in charge of all this?"

I nodded, feeling angry, disgusted and scared. What happened to the world in the future?

"You, know one of them, already."

"Hydra?"

"Yep. The Nazis may be gone, but Hydra survived. You cut off one head two grow back. They always come back," he scooped up more water to rinse the conditioner out.

"Is there anything we can do?"

"What do you think we're doing out here? We have people all over the world, locating bases and guarding routes to raid and save those that are stuck there."

I was just frozen. Questions just swirling in my brain. Most of them just starting with 'How?'. Christin nudged my shoulder, drawing my attention. He smiled warmly at me, just this time I saw the sparkle in his eyes that was dulling and tired.

"Hey, if you have something to say. Don't keep it in. I know this is a lot."

I sighed, "What happened to the world? It just seems more messed up than it was in the war."

"I know. It's hard. But life's always been hard. We just need to keep on going and helping the ones who can't."

"I don't know what to do."

"You could help us; we could always use another soldier."

"A soldier missing a limb?"

"I thought Dr. McClain told you about a prosthetic already."

"What could a wooden arm help me with?"

"Wooden? Bucky, I have had people with modern day prosthetics save my life. They gave my brother the ability to walk again."

"Are you sure, they could help me?"

"As long as you can put in the work," he patted my shoulder, making a little of the bath water splash, "Don't worry, we'll give you something so awesome, they'll make Stark jealous."

Stark? Was Howard still alive? My head started to hurt; I'll have to ask later.

"Bucky, you, okay?"

I shook my head, "I'm tired."

"Okay, I'm going to get you a towel. Think you can wipe yourself off with a washcloth?"

I nodded and he hand a small soapy cloth to me.

"I'll be right back," he stood up and left.

What world have I woken up to?