"Hey, toss me that holster, would ya?" Nat gestured to the weapons bay behind Charlotte, who obliged before sitting to lace up her combat boots.
The Avengers' locker room was a symphony of preparation. Weapons clinked, boots thudded against the ground, and the low hum of conversations blended into the mix. It was a familiar prelude to a simulated battle—a dance they'd all come to know well. But amid the routine, an undercurrent of tension rippled.
Charlotte stood by the rack of suits, adjusting the straps of her uniform, finally having received her own custom-fit battle suit within the past few weeks. Her movements were practiced, automatic, but there was a flicker of restlessness in her eyes. Bucky, a shadow in the periphery, watched her closely.
As the team geared up and filed out of the room, Bucky approached Charlotte, his metal hand catching her arm gently. "Careful in there," he warned, his voice low, a note of concern underlying the words.
Charlotte yanked her arm away, shooting him a sharp look. "Bucky, I told you, I don't need you watching over me."
Bucky's jaw clenched. "You've been pushing too hard in training lately. I'm just looking out for you."
"I can handle myself," she retorted, the defiance clear in her tone.
He sighed, his gaze fixed on hers. "This isn't about proving yourself, Charlotte. You don't need to prove anything to anyone."
She scoffed, turning away to grab her weapons. "Easy for you to say. You've been in battle before. If we have to go active, I'm the only one who hasn't done it before. I refuse to be a liability."
The weight of their shared history lingered in the air, unspoken words heavy between them. Bucky reached out, stopping her with a touch on her shoulder. "I get it. But I don't want you to get hurt before you have the chance. I'm just trying to give you the support that I needed -"
Charlotte met his eyes. "I'm not you, Bucky. I can take care of myself."
He let his hand fall as he grit his teeth, the tension palpable. "I didn't say you couldn't. But if I recall, you don't have the best track record at taking it slow, and you haven't exactly been using your resources." He jerked his chin down to the metal band around her wrist, designed to keep her from overexertion, one she consistently ignored.
She shot him a final, cutting look before turning and storming from the locker room.
"I don't need saving, Bucky. I don't need your protection."
The Avengers' simulation training room buzzed with energy as the team split into two for a simulated battle. With reports of unrest across the world coming in almost daily, the team had taken a step back from training the agents and instead channeled their focus into their own preparations. While weapons training and intelligence briefing both took place on Mondays, the rest of the week was full of combat simulations. One of the massive empty buildings at the compound, previously dubbed "extra storage" had been reengineered to be a state of the art training facility. Using a combination of nanotechnology and holograms, it could simulate just about any situation imaginable. Each exercise was designed to train the team to be adaptable, prepare for anything, and most importantly - work cohesively.
A blast of red light nearly took Charlotte's head off as it whizzed in front of her face, only missing her by inches as she arched her back. Metal clattered to the ground around her as Wanda hit her mark, blowing the mock Ultron-bot to pieces.
"Nice shot," She called to Wanda, rolling to her feet. The hum of simulated explosions filled the air as she flipped and somersaulted, the thrill of the training session exhilarating her. This exercise was designed to mimic the infamous Sokovia incident. Only bits were recreated, like the altitude, the bots as the assailants, and a ticking clock for urgency.
"Char, behind you!" Steve's voice bellowed from somewhere to Charlotte's right. She dropped to her knees just as a bot flew overhead, grabbing it by the torso as it passed. Her shoulders groaned as the bot carried her into the air, her fingertips screaming under the weight of her body and all the weapons decorating it.
"Pete, you got me?" Charlotte yelled over the wind gusting past her face.
"10-4!"
In a smooth movement, Charlotte swung her legs and hurtled her weight downward, throwing the bot off balance and sending it careening into another one flying directly at them. Seconds before the bots collided midair, she let go, tumbling towards the rubble far below.
Before her stomach could fully plummet into her ass, her momentum changed directions as a red blur soared by and grabbed her by the waist. They swung up, up, and lightly touched down on the blown open top floor of a nearby building.
"Ma'am, I think this is your stop." Peter mock-bowed.
"I appreciate the lift," She grinned and saluted as he took off, swinging back into the smoke.
"Little help here," Bucky's voice grunted through the comm system.
"Bucky?" She pressed a finger to her ear as she turned and sprinted to the staircase in the shelled out building. "What's your location?"
"Off the square…beneath the truck…" His voice was strained.
"Beneath the…" She was breathless as she tore down the staircase, willing her legs to go faster. "Bucky!"
Even the knowledge that this was a simulation didn't stop the panic when Charlotte burst through the front doors to see Bucky lying on his back, a truck turned on its side pinning his left arm to the pavement. She looked skyward, where the bots that had dropped it on him were returning. Immediately taking a battle stance, she reached behind her and hoisted the twin vibranium swords out of their sheaths.
"Backup…in the square," Bucky groaned into his earpiece as two dozen bots swarmed the sky above them.
With practiced maneuvers, Charlotte launched into action in front of Bucky, her blades cutting clean through the bots as they dive-bombed the pair. As she swung her blade upward, cutting one neatly in half, a red light flashed in front of her eyes. For a split second, she glanced down at her wrist monitor, the insistent beeping almost drowned out by the chaos of the battle.
The warning light flashed across the small screen, indicating she was dangerously close to overexertion. Unamused, she ignored the alert, hacking down as another bot made a pass at Bucky. Her momentum sent her whirling, landing on a bent knee as the metal tumbled around them. The moment she paused cost her, as she couldn't clear the path of the shrapnel quickly enough. A jagged piece of metal sliced through her forehead, immediately leaking blood down into her eye.
Kneeling right in front of where he was pinned, Charlotte locked eyes with Bucky. He noticed the blinking monitor on her wrist, concern furrowing his brow. As he moved to speak, the simulated explosions drowned out his voice. Sparks flew around them as another bot peppered the truck with laser shots. Grunting, Charlotte threw one of her blades and sent it cleanly through the chest of the bot.
She covered her head as she rolled forward to retrieve her second sword from the shrapnel of the bot. Bucky groaned again as the truck was encircled with glowing red light, Wanda soaring overhead.
"Get out, go!" She called as the truck lifted into the air, following her every command. Bucky tried to move his arm, but the weight of the truck had forced it down into the cement, rendering him stuck.
He grit his teeth and yanked, but the awkward angle made it difficult for him to move. Sprinting to his side, Charlotte gripped the metal of his wrist and yanked, ignoring the incessant beeping of her monitor.
"Char, you're tapping out," He grunted.
"Hush, let me work." She said dismissively. After a few good tugs, his arm came out of the cement, the momentum from their pulling sending them both tumbling.
Without missing a beat, Charlotte rolled herself back to her feet and held the sword up, ready to strike.
"Charlotte, stand down," Bucky warned, catching up to her.
"Relax, Bucky. Let's not make a scene." She ran up the side of a wall as a larger bot approached, her speed propelling her into the air so she could get the height needed to bring her sword down and cut it out of the sky.
Bucky, growing increasingly frustrated as the beeping only grew louder, pushed through the falling metal to intercept Charlotte. As soon as she landed and rolled back to her feet, he grabbed her by the wrists and slammed her against the wall.
"No. Lets."
"Charlotte, enough." Bucky's voice cut through the stillness, his eyes intense as he held her pinned to the wall. "You're pushing yourself too hard again. You're not invincible. How many times do we have to do this?"
Charlotte let out a carefree laugh, a stark contrast to the sounds of battle still raging on around them. "Bucky, sweetheart, it's just a simulation. We've been doing these for weeks and nothing has happened."
His grip tightened, a mix of frustration and genuine concern etched on his face. "This isn't a joke. You could get hurt and one of these times you might not bounce back so quick."
She met his gaze, the defiance in her eyes warring with the genuine worry mirrored in his.
"Bucky. I appreciate the concern, but I can handle myself. I agreed to wear the cuff, not to be manhandled by you every time you think I'm going too hard." She shoved her body against his chest, yanking her wrists from his grip.
Bucky reluctantly released her, his face dark with annoyance.
"Kill the simulation." His voice boomed from behind her.
Immediately, the sounds of the battle were replaced by the whirring of the nanotech. Fire and smoke turned to bright, cool lighting. Destruction and rubble turned into the smooth, gray technology that made up the training room. One by one, the team returned to the center. Peter swung in, landing right before Wanda touched down. Steve was the last to approach as the others stood and watched Charlotte face off against Bucky.
She turned slowly, looking up at him in utter rage. He grit his teeth but held his ground.
The only noise in the echoing chamber was the clunk of Charlotte's boots as she stormed up to Bucky, getting as close to his face as she could while still being over six inches shorter than him.
"What the fuck was that?"
Without breaking eye contact, his hand shot out and gripped her left arm. "You tell me." He lifted her wrist next to her face, so close the red light illuminated her cheeks.
"Protein saturation in blood has reached a critical level. Stand down now." A clinical female voice called from the metal band.
She wrenched her arm free and hissed, "If I wanted a keeper, I would have stayed in that goddamn lab."
The team shuffled nervously, looking at their feet as Charlotte turned and stormed out of the simulation room. Bucky stood exactly where she left him, fuming.
After a few awkwardly quiet moments, the team slowly filed out of the room, leaving Steve alone with Bucky. Taking a deep breath, Steve patted his friend on the back before leaving the room without a word.
"How many times do you think this is going to happen?" Peter whispered to Wanda as they traipsed toward their pseudo-locker room.
"Who knows. What is this, the fifth time?"
"This week, it feels like." Peter shook his head, hair mussed from the mask.
"Hey, why don't you two let Cap handle the personnel issues and just enjoy the early end to training today." Nat elbowed her way in between them with a stern look.
When she'd passed them and turned a corner, Peter gave an incredulous look to Wanda, mouthing 'personnel issue?'
The laboratory wing was quiet, with only the hum of machines and the occasional distant echo of footsteps. In the heart of it all was the lab, bathed in a dim, artificial glow. Bruce Banner, absorbed in his work, tinkered with equipment, surrounded by an array of high-tech devices.
The door to the lab swung open abruptly and Charlotte stormed in. Her hair was still plastered to her forehead with sweat, an angry gash still leaked blood above her brow, and her eyes were swimming with angry tears.
"How do you do it?" Charlotte demanded.
Dropping his tools, Bruce met her gaze and walked to meet her at the door. "Charlotte, what's wrong?"
She collapsed into a chair, her demeanor shifting from anger to a more vulnerable state. Bruce sighed and took a seat across from her.
"You're upset. Talk to me," he urged, a calm steadiness in his voice.
Tears welled in Charlotte's eyes as frustration gave way to sorrow. Bruce tentatively reached out to her, laying a hand on her shoulder as she dropped her face into her hands.
"You know exactly what's wrong. Bucky had no right to stop the simulation. I can handle myself," she expressed, her words tinged with both anger and hurt. "He always does this, thinks I'm breakable and weak," her voice cracked on the last word.
Bruce's brow furrowed as he listened. "Charlotte…you and Bucky have been at each other's throats for weeks, but I've never seen it rattle you like this…" He chose his words carefully, not wanting to scare her away when - as far as he knew - she hadn't let anyone else see her cry. "Why is this time different?"
For a moment, the only sound in the lab was Charlotte's soft sobs.
"Do you think…maybe you're upset about something else? Maybe you're not really mad at Bucky?" His voice was gentle.
"He's a controlling dick," She looked him in the eye, tears streaming down her cheeks. "He's relentless. I can't stand him."
Bruce looked at her with kind eyes, trying to keep the pity out of them. He hated when people felt sorry for him. It made everything worse.
"I'm not disagreeing with you. Bucky can be…prickly." He gave a soft laugh. "But Char…what's really bothering you?"
"I didn't ask for this. I didn't want any of this. I didn't ask to be experimented on," she continued, her emotions breaking through in tearful admission. "I didn't ask to be orphaned and kidnapped and turned into a monster, and now…now I've outlived everyone who's ever known me and I don't fit in with society and I don't even fucking fit in here because every time I try, my body just…" She dropped her head back into her hands and sobbed again. Bruce gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze and let her calm down.
Sniffling, Charlotte looked up at him. "My body keeps failing me. It…I feel like I can do too much to be a human, be normal. But I can't do enough to be here. I can't keep up." She wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. "I hate him. I hate him because he's right. I'm weak and he's the only one who knows it."
Bruce cocked his head, sympathy flooding his eyes. "I know how that feels, Charlotte. I didn't ask for this life either. I hid from the world for a long time, hating myself. I didn't want to be here anymore, be alive." He paused. "I tried not to be."
The room filled with solemn understanding. Charlotte, with tear-streaked cheeks, looked up at Bruce, her eyes wide at his admission.
"But you—The Hulk—you're powerful. You can control your powers. You deserve to be here." she questioned, her defiance underlined by a hint of desperation.
Bruce leaned forward, considering his words carefully. "Control wasn't always possible. I hurt a lot of people before I learned how. It took years, and lots of help." He gestured at his own wrist cuff. "My biggest fear is losing control and hurting people. I still see all the destruction I caused, everything awful that happened because of me. I'll never be able to escape it."
He paused, swallowing. "I don't want to minimize your feelings, at all. They're valid and you have every right to be upset. But if I had to choose between being a big green monster who decimates cities when he gets upset…and a beautiful, brave, intelligent woman who can do so much good in the world, but maybe just has to learn to slow down…Well, let's just say it wouldn't be much of a choice."
Charlotte gave him a sad smile.
"But I want to be part of the team. I want to help," she declared, her voice carrying a mixture of defiance and longing.
Bruce, offering her a tissue. "I get that. But sometimes, you need to acknowledge your limits. It's not about weakness; it's about understanding your own power. You don't have to be Wanda or Peter to be revolutionary. Look at Nat, she doesn't have any power at all, and she's one of the greatest heroes of our generation. Tony doesn't have any power beyond being, well, brilliant. Clint, Maria, Scott…they're all extraordinary people without having extraordinary powers. You do. You're capable of so much more than you're allowing yourself to see."
Silence settled between them, broken only by Charlotte's occasional sniffle. She wiped away her tears, and Bruce's gaze remained sympathetic.
"I just... I hate feeling so out of control. And Bucky, he doesn't understand. He doesn't see how hard it is to be in the middle of everything, everyone and just have to stop," Charlotte confessed, her voice tinged with frustration. "How am I ever supposed to go on missions, to really help if I have to stop and get sidelined halfway through a goddamn fight?"
"Bucky cares about you, Charlotte. He's been through a lot, too, and he's just trying to protect you," Bruce explained, his words carrying a tone of understanding.
"Everyone keeps saying that." Charlotte retorted, her defenses still high.
"Then maybe you should start believing it. I'm not saying he's a master communicator, I know he doesn't come across very warm and fuzzy. But he's the one person here who's been through the same hell you have, so don't be so quick to shut him out."
As they sat in the dimly lit lab, Charlotte, now calmer, gazed at Bruce with a newfound understanding. "How do you cope, Banner?"
"I've accepted that this is a part of me. Hulk isn't a curse; he's a part of who I am. And I've learned to find balance, to live with it," Bruce shrugged. "I didn't have much of a choice when it came to living with it, so I decided to make it worthwhile."
"Balance..." Charlotte echoed, a thoughtful expression on her face.
"It's not about controlling everything. It's about finding a way to live with your powers, to make them a part of your life without letting them define you," Bruce explained, offering her a perspective she hadn't fully considered. "Being the strongest, the fastest, the most powerful…that's not the only way to be a hero. It's not about the powers you have, it's about what you do with them."
"Thanks, Bruce," Charlotte spoke softly.
"Anytime, kiddo. We're all figuring this out together," Bruce replied, a reassuring smile on his face.
"You can't call me kiddo, I'm at least twice your age."
"Whenever you stop coming to me for fatherly advice, I'll stop calling you kiddo." He nudged her arm before turning back to his work station.
The night hung heavy over the Avengers' compound, the moon casting a soft glow on the balcony where Bucky Barnes stood, lost in the shadows of his own thoughts. It was well past midnight when Charlotte's bare feet stepped out onto the cool tiles. She slipped her hands up into the sleeves of her sweatshirt, a chill running through her.
"Bucky," she said quietly, a hesitant note in her voice.
He turned, his expression unreadable, and nodded for her to join him. They stood side by side, overlooking the quiet landscape.
"I couldn't sleep," Bucky admitted.
"Me neither," Charlotte confessed.
There was an unspoken understanding, a shared bond in their restless nights haunted by memories neither cared to verbalize. Yet the air between them was charged, the tension palpable from their strained relationship as of late.
"Does it hurt?" He nodded to the cut above her eye, held together with two butterfly bandages.
"Not really. You?" She gestured to his left shoulder, formerly crushed under the car.
"Luckily there aren't a lot of nerve endings in vibranium." He offered her a half-hearted smile to show he wasn't trying to be a total asshole. She returned it, but said nothing.
"I'm not trying to control you, you know," Bucky finally spoke again, his voice low, the words carefully chosen.
Charlotte sighed, her gaze dropping to the ground. "I know. It just... felt like that."
Bucky leaned against the balcony railing, his eyes searching hers. "I've seen too much. Been through too much. And I don't want anyone else to go through what I have."
Her eyes met his, and in the quiet of the night, there was a glimpse of vulnerability beneath the layers of stoicism.
"I appreciate that, I do. But I need to find my own way," Charlotte replied, her voice firm but not unkind.
Bucky nodded, understanding the sentiment. "I get it. But you don't have to do it alone. I just…wanted to make sure someone was looking out for you. You can cut it on your own, I get it. Clearly you were doing just fine before we came along. But it doesn't have to be like that now. People care." He swallowed. "I care."
They stood in a moment of silence, the weight of unspoken histories lingering between them. Charlotte chewed her lower lip, clinging to her anger from earlier that threatened to be washed away with his kind words.
"I used to be like you," Bucky began, his gaze distant, lost in memories. "Angry, feeling like I had to prove something. But you don't, Char. You don't have to prove anything to anyone. Least of all, us."
Charlotte sighed. "I know that I don't have to prove anything. I just want to be worthy of being here. I want to, I don't know, prove that you made the right choice in bringing me here. For God's sake, it's taken thousands of dollars of resources just to keep me from ripping your head off every time I see you."
Bucky chuckled. "Sometimes I think they didn't fully get that out of your system."
"Sometimes I don't either." She met his gaze.
"There's more to being an Avenger than just fighting. You have skills, powers that go beyond combat. I can teach you," Bucky offered, his words carrying a sincerity that surprised her.
Charlotte's brow furrowed. "Teach me what, exactly?"
"Everything I know," Bucky replied, a glimmer of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Not just combat. Strategy, survival skills, weapons, how to gather and deliver intelligence. There's more to winning a battle than just what happens on the battlefield."
The unexpected offer hung in the air, and Charlotte considered it. Her gaze met Bucky's, and for the first time in weeks, there was a semblance of peace between them.
"I don't want you to feel like you have to be the same as anyone to be an asset. We're a team, we complement each others' strengths. We don't need another Hulk, but I have a feeling we could benefit from a Mockingbird," Bucky added, his tone genuine.
Charlotte nodded, giving him a soft smile. "Alright. Teach me."
