Unsafe
Blue eyes snapped open, right hand reflexively curling around the cat still kneading his chest.
Green, half lidded eyes gazed into his soul. Purring.
Where am I?
This was his bed?
In the apartment he shared….
Shared with who?
The electric pulse of memory shocked him upright, cradling the cat.
There, slumped against the door was Shay. The blood registered first. Then he realized she was still wearing the dress from the night before.
“Hey. Hey wake up. Come on Shay, wake up!”
My senses awoke with the hand on the side of my face, “hm? Oh.” I took in his worried gaze, and registered the damp spreading across my chest.
“Where are you hurt?”
“Uh. Not sure. Nosebleed, I think. What do you remember?”
“Everything, I think. What happened?”
“Killer robot,” I groaned as the memory of each blow came back, stinging through the fog in my head. “Time?”
2:30 am. Ugh.
“Need to go find Steve.”
“you’re not going anywhere like this.” Steel blue resolve.
“Can I at least find a couch; the floor isn’t all that comfy.”
He helped me up, half carrying me to my room.
“Thanks, go talk to Steve. I’ll clean myself up.” I said, bracing myself against the doorframe. He raised his bracelet in reminder of the short leash he was on. “Jarvis is gone, it’s not tracking anything anymore. Go, find the others, figure out what’s going on.” I shooed him from the room.
Peeling myself out of the dress I noticed the blast marks on the corset Tony had redesigned for me, if it hadn’t been for the reinforced fabric and steel… I wouldn’t be here, worrying about the future. That much was certain. I filled the tub with warm water and grabbed a cloth. Bruises and shallow wounds exposed by the stinging water. I leaned into the sensation to overcome the pounding in my head. Headache or concussion? I really shouldn’t have slept after getting hit in the head like that. Too late to worry about that. Feeling sufficiently clean, I pulled my aching limbs from the tub. It’s magical how much better warm, clean clothes can make you feel.
Text:
Me: where is everyone?
Nat: Banner’s lab
Nat: Stay there, we’re coming up.
-
I waited for the elevators chime before leaving the suite, shutting Casper in. The scene looked brutal, the legionnaire was still sprawled on the floor amid smears of blood and broken glass. I pulled the dagger out of the metal joint and peeled the widow bites off the side of its head. I looked up from the scene to see Nat, Steve and James watching me.
“Nat, if it hadn’t been for these…” I didn’t have to finish my thought, as she pulled me into a hug. “Thanks.”
“I should have been here.” Steve, blaming himself as usual.
“I managed, I’m sure you had enough on your hands.”
Nat released me and Steve stepped in for a brief hug before inspecting my face, noticing the gash on my temple.
“The eight of us only had 4 to deal with. You were on your own.”
“Don’t go down that track, I’m alright.” Seeing their disbelief, I relented “it looks worse than it is.” I pulled the edge of my sweater up to reveal the black/purple bruising across my left side. “I don’t think anything’s broken. it’ll heal.”
“You should get that looked at.”
“Yeah, probably. So, what happened?”
Barnes expression was dark and he didn’t speak as the other two filled me in. Tony and Bruce had been tinkering with AI, the scepter had given life to a metal madman, and Jarvis had been destroyed. The avengers were trying to trace the scepter, and Ultron was in internet. The tower wasn’t safe anymore.
“I can help.”
“No, you both need to sit this one out. You’ve been injured and Ultron knows about the winter soldier.” Steve spoke first to me and then to Bucky.
“Find somewhere safe, off the record.” Nat’s eyes spoke volumes and I read the unspoken plea. We would be a dangerous distraction the team couldn’t afford.
“I’ve got a place.”
-
I grabbed a bag from the back of the closet, pausing to take a few things as I passed through the room. Casper joined me on the couch as I waited for Barnes to appear. I flipped open a burner phone and dialed a number.
“Hey.”
“Sharice! haven’t heard from you in a long time.”
“How are you doing Marcel?”
“Doing well, I assume you’re not calling to talk about weather.”
“Sorry, no. I need a quick getaway. North.”
“Border?”
“I’d like to avoid questions.”
“Done.”
I made a note of the location and time before knocking on the adjoining door. “Pack for cold weather, will you be ready to leave in an hour?”
The door opened and the face of a still angry Barnes glared at me.
“Are you going to tell me where you’re taking me?”
“Home.”