Chapter 1
She stood, one foot in front of the other, gasping for air through the smoke rising from the truck crushed beneath her. Her hands flexed in anger and she cringed at the feeling of metal scraping against metal in her palm. When the two men who had been chasing her finally approached, calling her name, she hurled the door of the truck at them to keep the distance.
They both dodged easily, the one with the metal arm raising his hands in surrender. Someone was saying her name again.
"Sofia, hey, hey!" It was the other one, he raised his hands as well, staying far enough away to avoid anything else she had to throw.
Sofia. Right, that was her name. She watched, waiting for him to continue.
"Sofia, listen to me. I know you're scared- But I need you to listen to me, please. My name is Sam Wilson, I know who you are-."
He was cut off by Sofia lifting her hands pointing to her chest then moving to tap her temple, speaking as she signed. "I know who you are." Her voice was hoarse and harsh, unused.
Sam met eyes with the other man, "Then you know we don't want to hurt you, we want to talk."
At that she laughed silently, pointing a finger at him with her eyebrows raised. "You could never hurt me, couldn't even get close."
"Oh I don't know, it sure seems like someone did." The man with the metal arm snapped, recoiling when Sam smacked his shoulder. They made eye contact again in a way that obviously asked 'What the fuck is wrong with you'.
Of course he was talking about the scars that littered her right side, burns that caused noticeable damage to her eye and most likely hearing.
She made a universally understood hand motion, bringing both middle fingers up and waving them around.
Sam sighed loudly and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Can one of you act like an adult, either of you? Preferably the one who is supposed to be my partner." He raised his eyebrows, "That means you, Bucky."
Bucky. Oh. It started to click. Bucky Barnes, the Winter Solider.
"Will you come down and talk to us?" Sam seemed exhausted, he had taken his goggles off long ago and his skin was coated in sweat. The Flag-Smashers had really done a number on them this time, and they still didn't have Karli. But they did find Sofia, who had been missing until now.
She hesitated and watched them, drawing in a heavy breath. "Okay, but not you. I want to talk to him." She met Bucky's narrowed eyes and smirked.