Make Sense
Young people sleep in late. Apparently that was a thing now. It was noon and Kitty still wasn’t up. Bucky looked over the little black drive with the blue X on it. He figured he had time to debate how to give it to her while she slept for what seemed like forever.
However, the cartoonish purple dragon was wide awake. Lockheed stared at Bucky uncomfortably from across the table. To clarify, it was Bucky that felt uncomfortable. He couldn’t get a read on the dragon.
How long was she going to sleep? Would the dragon know? Bucky facepalmed at the thought.
He leaned forward slightly, deciding to do something- anything that might get her to wake up sooner rather than later.
“Hey,” He addressed the dragon. It tilted its head. He went on, “Can you wake her up?”
Lockheed blinked his beady eyes and just stared at him for a few seconds. Then he squawked loudly and flew up to the ceiling before settling on a large ceiling light.
Well, that was no help. Bucky facepalmed again, why did he even try that?
Here he was, the former Winter Soldier. One of the deadliest- if not THE deadliest assassin on the planet. The White Wolf.
And he was talking to a miniature dragon.
Un-be-fucking-lievable.
He put his face in his hands and thought about his conversation with Kitty. She didn’t blame him. He still couldn’t quite believe it.
Bucky was pulled out of his thoughts by Lockheed screeching. He looked up at the dragon on its perch. It looked down at him like it’d done nothing wrong before letting out another long screech.
Irritation painted Bucky’s face as the dragon closed its mouth and flew over to the table before landing. He shoved the drive back in his pocket. Lockheed squawked again before Kitty walked in, rubbing her eyes.
“I’m awake, geez Lockheed,” She yawned and then sat at the table.
“About time you woke up. It’s noon,” Bucky pointed out from across the table.
“Yeah yeah, I know,” Kitty nodded her head, still waking up, “My purple alarm with wings didn’t wake me up like I told him to.”
“You were relying on your pet to wake you up?” Bucky asked, a bit of judgment in his voice.
“First of all, Lockheed isn’t a pet. He’s a friend,” Kitty corrected him and Lockheed squawked approvingly, “And secondly, yes. He was supposed to wake me up and he didn’t.”
Lockheed didn’t like her last comment and then sprung towards Kitty, climbing onto her shoulders before smacking her face with its tail. Kitty winced before grabbing her nose. She was definitely awake now and the dragon made sure of it.
“Still,” Bucky continued, “Would it kill you to set an alarm on your phone?”
“My phone died,” She replied, “And out of all of the stuff I brought, I didn’t bring a charger.”
“Smart,” Bucky rolled his eyes.
Kitty walked away to another room and emerged a few minutes later, “There is literally nothing to eat in this place,” She paused and looked at him, “Did you eat?”
“No. Like you said, there isn’t any food here,” He shook his head and remained in his seat.
Lockheed flicked his tail and Kitty looked at the dragon and nodded, “You’re right. We gotta find a place to eat.”
Bucky gave her a deadpan stare, “We’re not just going to walk around Madripoor looking for a place to eat.”
Kitty looked displeased, “Then what do you recommend we do? Starve?”
Bucky frowned at her and thought for a few moments before giving in, “Fine. But I’m leading the way.”
Kitty raised her hands in surrender, “Fine by me. Lead the way.”
Bucky reluctantly stood up and headed for the door. Kitty grabbed what looked like a black and yellow rain jacket to cover up the fact that she was dressed in a combat suit before following after him. Lockheed became a pattern on her thigh.
Her fashion choices were validated by the fog outside. The fog was annoying to Bucky for the simple reason that it was easy to hide in. Which could benefit them, but it could also benefit the wide range of criminals within the city. And God knows how many people him, Sam, and Zemo had pissed off after Selby had been killed.
Bucky weighed the options. Walk through the fog and potentially get jumped or just steal a car and not have to deal with it? He was sure that if they got ambushed, they could deal with their attackers. But at the same time, they needed to deal with Frost. And they needed all of their energy to do that.
Once they had exited the building and walked a couple blocks, Bucky spotted a car that looked like it could work. It also looked like no one had used it in forever.
He veered off the sidewalk and approached the car, earning a confused look from Kitty. He bumped it, expecting to set off an alarm. Luckily for him, there was no alarm to hear. He then easily pried open the door to the driver’s side and tried to recall how to steal a car. He had learned how to do it with Steve back in the 40s, but he had rarely used that method since.
“Are you- are you stealing a car?” Kitty asked, almost in disbelief. She then looked down before looking at him and blinking away the disbelief, “I take it back. You’re not a prude.”
Bucky let out an irritated sigh and he began to try and hotwire the car while ignoring the girl that stood by the passenger door. His attempts were successful and he managed to start the car. He unlocked it and then got inside at the same time as Kitty did. He removed the emergency brake and then switched gears into drive before entering the road.
Kitty settled into her seat and then put her seatbelt on. As he drove, she scouted out the window for a café or a grocery store. She eagerly looked out the window, searching for any sign of food. At one point, she yelled to stop and pointed out a half decent café on the corner of one block.
Once Bucky parked the car, Kitty sprang out towards the place. Bucky failed to match her speed and walked slowly behind, entering the café a few seconds after her.
The café was, to put it simply, shitty. It looked like there had been a fight in this place sometime before. A few chairs were scattered around, missing legs, broken in half, or (rarely) sat next to a table. The tables were stained with what Kitty hoped were coffee stains and crumbs.
Bucky followed Kitty to the counter. She looked through the glass at the various snacks, trying her best not to look super grossed out by the mold on some items. She clearly regretted this choice of restaurant, but she wouldn’t admit it. She then turned to him, “What do you want to get?”
“I’m just going to get coffee,” He answered simply, “I’m not sure if I want to take the risk of.. That,” He looked at one of the moldy bagels with a grimace.
“Smart,” Kitty nodded, “I’ll pay.”
Kitty went over to the register, being greeted by an intimidatingly large man in an apron. She fished a twenty dollar bill out of the pocket of the rain jacket.
“One coffee and one chocolate muffin please,” She ordered and put the money on the counter.
“We don’t take American dollars,” The man responded in a thick, indiscernible accent.
“Sorry, let me get-” Kitty went to take back her money, but the man quickly moved his hand to stop her, trapping her hand underneath his.
Bucky removed his hands from his pockets. Of course they were going to get into a fight at the one place they needed to stop. Of fucking course.
Kitty didn’t seem threatened at all by the sudden action and looked up at the guy, “Oh that’s not a smart move, buddy.”
“I still take the money,” The barista demanded, tightening his grip.
“Dumb move, but ok,” Kitty shrugged and then phased her hand and the bill through his before launching her hand forward and flicking him in the Adam's apple. The man choked instantly and removed his hand to grab his throat.
“What are you?” The barista coughed.
Bucky wasn’t going to lie, seeing someone so small easily take down such a large guy in a matter of seconds in the way that she did was hilarious. But now wasn’t the time to laugh.
“Not someone you should be making demands from,” Kitty began, her expression dead serious, “Now, please take our order and accept the money I’m giving you. No more, no less. And also your phone charger.”
The man nodded and then took the twenty dollar bill, gave her the change, and rushed through their orders. He handed her the coffee and she handed it to Bucky. He then gave her the muffin and the phone charger with shaking hands. Kitty provided a threatening smile before happily walking out of the café. Bucky followed behind.
As they walked to the car, Bucky spoke, “Well, you’ve certainly got some guts.”
Kitty shrugged as she looked over the muffin, checking for any mold, “Logan taught me how to deal with assholes.”
“Ah,” Bucky nodded before taking a sip of his coffee. It was mediocre at best.
The two made their way back to the car and got back inside. Once Kitty got settled, Lockheed materialized and took its seat on her lap. It looked up at Kitty with puppy dog eyes.
Kitty couldn’t resist those eyes and broke off a piece of the muffin for Lockheed and fed it to him.
“Are you sure he should be eating that?” Bucky asked, watching with slight concern as the dragon consumed the piece of muffin within seconds.
“Yep, he’ll eat anything,” Kitty explained, “I’m not really sure what his actual diet is since, you know, he’s a dragon.”
Bucky cocked a brow and looked at Lockheed, earning a squawk from the dragon, “Maybe some kind of meat?”
“Like I said, he’ll eat anything, so I don’t think it’s something we need to worry about,” Kitty shrugged and then bit into her muffin.
She ate the muffin for a few minutes before speaking again, “Now that I think about it, you’d totally be a cat person.”
“Yeah?” He figured he’d humor her rather than resist, “Why’s that?”
“Cats are for people who don’t like people,” Kitty disclosed as she crumpled up the muffin wrapper, “I can imagine you with a cat.”
“You really think I could take care of a living thing?” He asked with sarcasm.
“It’s a cat. If anything, it’ll be taking care of you,” Kitty quipped as she scratched Lockheed’s chin.
“That’s coming from a girl named ‘Kitty,’” He let out a long sigh and then started the car, “Should we head back?”
“You did not just come for my nickname,” She feigned feeling insulted and fell back in her seat, “I’m so hurt that my name’s being insulted by the guy who calls himself ‘Bucky.’”
“I’ll have you know that Bucky comes from my middle name,” Bucky stated.
“Well, Kitty comes from my first name,” Kitty argued.
“How the hell does Katherine translate to Kitty?” He questioned.
“It’s a Jewish thing!” Kitty expressed.
They both stared at each other in silence before Kitty began laughing for a minute or so. Bucky relented and let a nice chuckle pass.
Kitty finally caught her breath, “You know what? We should find that office building and make sure Frost is there before we waste our time.”
“Not sure if that’s a great idea,” Bucky shook his head as he shifted gears.
“It’s a fantastic idea,” Kitty insisted, “It’s foggy, we have a very discreet car, and we have a dragon that can act as a scout.”
Bucky sighed, “You need to stop.”
“Being right?” Kitty finished off with a smirk, “Not happening.”
“Just give me the directions,” He shook his head.
“Hold on,” Kitty’s smug expression dropped and she pulled out the charger. She broke it apart and then reassembled it to plug into the car’s outlet. She then attached it to her phone and pulled up the directions. She then connected it to the car’s bluetooth with ease.
Bucky had to be honest. He had no idea what she was doing. Modern technology was still foreign to him in many ways. Yes, he had lived in Wakanda and had briefly lived amongst the advanced technology of the African country, but he never understood it. Kitty seemed to be the exact opposite.
“Okay, that should get us there,” Kitty placed the phone to the side, just out of his view.
“Do I have to look at it while I drive?” Bucky questioned, looking at the screen, “That seems impractical.”
“No,” Kitty cracked another slight smile. She didn’t want to make him feel bad and held it in as she explained it to him, “The phone will tell you the directions. You don’t need to worry about it unless you don’t hear the directions the first time. Then I can read it to you.”
Bucky nodded, slightly understanding her. He was about to ask another question before the phone voiced, “Turn left on Plunkett Road.”
“See,” Kitty gestured to the phone with a smile.
He rolled his eyes and then pulled out of the parking spot and into the main street. He followed the directions the phone gave him with ease.
As he focused on directions and driving, Kitty rummaged through the car’s glove box. She found a pair of small square black sunglasses and wet wipes. She wiped down the sunglasses and eagerly put them on.
Bucky glanced at her in his peripheral, “You know you don’t need those.”
“But they look cool,” Kitty argued as she adjusted them, “And now, no one will recognize me.”
“I think the purple dragon will give it away whether you wear those or not,” Bucky responded as he made a right turn.
Lockheed chirped in agreement and then moved over to sit on the center console, digging his claws into the leather to stay put.
“I’m keeping them,” Kitty stated firmly and crossed her arms.
“So you’re really stealing sunglasses from whomever owns this car,” Bucky raised a brow.
“You stole this person’s car. I think they have bigger things to worry about,” Kitty pointed out.
“Fair point,” Bucky conceded as they entered Hightown.
The difference was almost instant. Hightown was just as luxurious as he remembered from their past experiences. The skyscrapers towered over them, glistening and bright, even in the fog. Criminals dressed in high fashions roamed the streets.
Bucky continued driving until they pulled up a small distance away from the office building. He made sure to park just far enough away that it wouldn’t be suspicious. He rolled down the window to get some air.
“Okay, so,” Kitty began to plan as soon as they stopped, “Lockheed can fly around and peek into the building to look for Frost or any sign of the Hellfire Club.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Bucky nodded.
Lockheed got up and then climbed into Kitty’s lap before climbing into the window. He then spread his wings and flew off towards the building, disappearing into the fog.
“Now what?” Kitty asked as he leaned back in his seat.
“We wait,” Bucky answered as he turned off the car.
Kitty imitated him and crossed her arms as she looked out the window to try and see how Lockheed was doing.
There was a long silence between them as they waited for Lockheed’s return.
“So you really don’t think Illyana likes you?” Bucky asked, trying to restart the conversation from the night before.
“Oh no, we’re back to this,” Kitty’s eyes widened and she shrunk back in the passenger seat.
He rolled his eyes and went on, “She was potentially going to kill for you. Does that not mean anything?”
“I mean, maybe it means something,” Kitty shrugged, covering her face with her hand, “But she’s always been a bit intense. She’s Russian.”
“Jesus Christ, you really are oblivious,” Bucky pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Look, it’s just incredibly complicated,” Kitty defended herself.
“Is it complicated or are you afraid of what’ll happen if you actually try to see how she feels?” Bucky asked. In all honesty, he was surprised at what was coming from his mouth.
Kitty stayed quiet for several moments, thinking it through, “Both, I guess.”
Bucky sighed again, “All I’m saying is, try and talk to her about it. If you don’t want to, at the very least, just watch her behavior. She changes around you. Just, ask yourself why that is.”
Kitty raised a brow at him, “Not really sure where the advice is coming from, but okay.”
Bucky shrugged, “Couldn’t tell you either.”
The silence settled in again as Bucky got back into his head, thinking about the intense, yet brief interaction he had with Illyana. And he started speaking before he could stop himself, “Illyana said something, and you need to be honest when you answer me, about me being the reason you left your old team. Is that true?”
Kitty froze. He could tell she was debating what to say. She finally gave up and gave him somewhat of a straightforward answer, “Partially. But percentage wise it was probably 5% you and 95% the Professor.”
He stayed quiet, “Am I allowed to ask who that is?”
Kitty nodded and sighed, “The Professor- or Professor X as most people call him, is the head of the school and the creator of the team. His mutant power is telepathy.”
“So he got in your head,” Bucky guessed.
“Kind of,” Kitty replied, “It’s complicated.”
“Is everything complicated with you?” Bucky asked, raising a brow.
“Really feels like it, huh,” Kitty chuckled to herself before going to explain, “When Logan brought Kurt and I to the Professor’s school, he had the Professor check us out, see if our minds were okay or something along the lines of that. Him and another one of his students, another telepath named Jean, helped us remember things we’d forgotten. Jean tried to help with the nightmares. She’s why I don’t have them as often now.”
Bucky nodded and gently asked, “So what happened?”
“After I graduated, the Professor set up this test that he said was meant to test my skills in combat. He said it was designed specifically for me,” Kitty took a deep breath, “The simulation was designed around HYDRA. Around my fight with you.”
Bucky watched her expression change, “You lost.”
Kitty stayed quiet before nodding reluctantly, struggling through her words, “It’s not that I couldn’t stay because I lost. I couldn’t stay because it felt like the Professor- it felt like all of the effort that had gone into trying to be better- it felt like he just ruined it for no reason. I was back to square one with no idea who I wanted to be. All of my progress had been for nothing in his eyes. And that is just- it’s devastating.”
Bucky listened intently, not making a sound just in case she wanted to continue.
“I meant what I said last night- about you and HYDRA and all that stuff,” Kitty started again, “I don’t hate you for what happened.”
Bucky stayed silent, unsure of how to respond.
Kitty took his lack of response as the chance to continue, “The only person I hate is Pierce. He ordered it. It’s his fault. Please don’t feel guilty.”
Bucky looked at Kitty, now confused, “How did you know Pierce ordered it?”
Kitty realized what she’d said and covered her mouth for a second, “I was there when he ordered it.”
Bucky looked at her with slight intrigue, “You were in the same room as Pierce?”
“I only met him twice during my time there,” Kitty explained with a nod, “The second time I met him, he was observing the results of the mutant asset program at HYDRA,” She paused, looking out the window, “He saw my progress and Kurt’s and ordered one of us be put against the Winter Soldier once he returned from his mission. He wanted to test if the program would actually amount to something.”
Kitty went on, “He brought Kurt and I in and cruelly asked for a volunteer. A chance to prove our worth to HYDRA. We didn’t know who the Winter Soldier was, but Kurt and I knew that it was bad. Kurt, I think, knew more about it than I did. He looked scared- I think it was the first time I really ever saw him scared. I didn’t want him to be scared, so I volunteered,” Kitty had to stop herself and take a deep breath, “I thought- I really thought that I could win. That I could get out and save Kurt and we could escape.”
“It’s never that easy with them,” Bucky shook his head, “You shouldn’t have had to be put in that position.”
“But it happened,” Kitty stated, “And now we just have to deal with it. I’m sure that was nothing compared to what you had to go through. Seventy years of that kind of treatment. I can hardly imagine what that was like.”
Bucky stayed quiet, remembering or trying not to remember the bad things, “It was.. It was a lot.”
She put her hand on his shoulder and gave him a comforting smile, “You didn’t deserve to have to go through that.”
Lockheed appeared out of nowhere, darting into the window before he started squawking loudly.
Kitty clamped his mouth shut, “What is it, Locky? Is she there?”
Lockheed blinked and then used his tail to point out the window.
A white limousine drove past them and then stopped in front of the building. The door opened and, shockingly, Walker stepped out of the vehicle. He was then followed by Sam. Sam held the door open and held his hand out. A white gloved hand emerged from the vehicle and none other than Emma Frost emerged from the limousine.
Once Frost was out of the vehicle, Sam and Walker reached inside and pulled an unconscious Torres out of the car.
“Shit,” Bucky muttered.
“When did Walker get here?” Kitty asked, utterly confused.
The two watched as Walker and Sam carried Torres inside with Frost leading the way.
“We have to get back to the base,” Bucky started.
“Agreed,” Kitty nodded, “We need to gear up and get her before she leaves.”
“We shouldn’t rush into a fight with her, Kitty,” Bucky cautioned as he started the car, “She has Torres and apparently control over both Sam and Walker.”
“Which is exactly why we need to go after her as soon as we can,” Kitty reasoned, “The longer we leave her alone, the higher the chance she leaves.”
He pulled out of the parking spot and into the main road, heading back in the direction of the base and Lowtown, “Of course you’re right.”
Kitty smiled with satisfaction as Bucky raised the speed and drove back to the base. Once they arrived, they both quickly got out and then headed inside, Lockheed flying over Kitty.
Kitty got rid of the rain jacket and folded it before placing it on a table. She then went and got a gun. Lockheed climbed onto her shoulders as she waited by the door.
Bucky grabbed a gun and a knife before joining her at the door.
“Before we go,” Bucky stopped Kitty, “I need to give you something from Bobby.”
“Bobby?” Kitty tilted her head, “When did you talk to Bobby?”
“When I was looking for you, but that’s not important,” Bucky waved it off and then removed the drive from his pocket, holding it out, “In exchange for information, he made me promise to give this to you to decrypt.”
Kitty looked at the drive, recognizing the blue X on the black drive. She then took it and placed it in the pocket of the rain jacket, “When this is finished, I’ll do it,” She assured.
Kitty then walked back to the door as Bucky remembered, “One last thing.”
She turned back, “What else could Bobby possibly have for me?”
“He wanted to say happy birthday,” Bucky recalled.
Kitty realized and smiled slightly, “Didn’t think he’d remember.”
Kitty then turned around and made her way downstairs to the car. They both got in and made their way back to the office building.
They found a back entrance and then made their way inside. Kitty sent Lockheed to find which floor Frost and the others were on.
For an office building, it was relatively quiet and nearly empty. It was definitely a front.
“Remember, Frost is a telepath so try not to let her in your head,” Kitty explained in a whisper as they went down one hall, “To avoid her tricks, we have to get her to go into her diamond form. She can’t use her telepathy in that form so it’ll give us the upper hand.”
Bucky nodded just as Lockheed returned. Kitty held up six fingers and they found an empty elevator, taking it up to the sixth floor.
Even now, Bucky was astonished that he was even in this situation. Things had progressed so quickly and changed so fast. The 40s had nothing on the 21st century.
Bucky and Kitty stepped off the elevator and into a dimly lit office area filled with desks, chairs, dividers, and cabinets. Most of the dividers were tall enough so that they could easily use them as cover. Lockheed returned to being a pattern on Kitty’s suit to lessen any remaining noise.
Bucky directed Kitty to search the left side of the room while he searched the right. She nodded and silently moved to the left.
The silence was unnerving as Bucky spotted the outline of someone slumped over in a desk chair. Bucky cautiously stepped over and gently lifted the person’s head. Torres was unconscious in the chair. He lightly tapped the side of his face in an attempt to wake him up.
Meanwhile, Kitty phased through one divider and froze, finding both Walker and Sam seated by a desk. They were both wide awake and didn’t react to her presence. They held the same faraway look. Kitty took a step back to see if they would react. Still nothing.
“Creepy,” Kitty mumbled as she carefully approached them and waved her hand in front of Sam’s face, trying to gauge a reaction out of him. Nothing.
She then stepped back and put her hands on her hips, debating what to do.
Suddenly, they turned their heads and began walking out of the office space. Kitty followed behind them with caution.
Over on Bucky’s side, he heard loud footsteps. He was still unable to wake up Torres and left him, deciding to come back for him later. He stepped in the direction of the footsteps and then stopped at the edge of the office space.
He looked down and spotted Kitty looking down at the opposite end. They looked at each other with confusion. Kitty pointed to Walker and Sam, both stood straight and frozen to the side. Bucky shrugged and motioned to stay still.
They were snapped out of their conversation by a voice.
“Hello, darling.”