We had since woken up the sleepers and gotten off the quinjet. Clint was the last one off, of course, he had to finish up whispering sweet nothings to his baby. We're now heading towards a well-hidden facility and I'm already sweating buckets. Just before we enter the building I discreetly manipulate the sweat off me and into the ground. Yuck. I enter the facility sweat free and more than welcome the air conditioning. We all follow Steve like this is a school field trip and he's the principal. Hopefully he knows where he's going.

Turns out he doesn't. We nearly run over a young woman with long, straight, black hair and caramel colored eyes. Steve takes the opportunity to ask her where he can find King T'Challa. Her pretty eyes widen at Steve and we all giggle from behind him.

"Oh! I'll go get his Majesty for you! Right away!" She scurries away before Steve can say another word. He sighs and shrugs.

"Well, I guess that works." Steve leans against the wall and crosses his arms to wait. We follow his lead once again, making room for people to pass by pressing ourselves against the walls.

"Am I going to have to tell Victoria you're flirting with other girls, Steve?" I tease and he chuckles. He looks at me and he seems to come to a small realization.

"I think you two will definitely get along. You both tease. Bucky too." He remarks fondly and smiles genuinely. I'm made just a tad too happy by that compliment. I smile back and look out the windows at the massive amount of green and mist. I move my foot up and down rapidly to distract me and hold in a bored sigh. I'm ready to be put to work. I lower the temperature around just me, so when I breathe out there are little puffs of my breath. My finger draws patterns in the mist as the others stare at me. "How can you lower the temperature like that?" Steve asks, moving closer so his breath makes puffs in the air too.

"Cold is really an illusion. Everything is actually heat. Cold is only the absence of warmth, so I can extract that heat from the air to make it cold. Easy. I could even make it snow if you like?" I ask, but I've already started moving my hands. Focusing on keeping it cold with just my will, I pull water from the air with my left hand. I lower the temperature further and smile when I see Sam shiver. I toss the ball of water up and splay my fingers out to distribute it over all of us. Delicate snowflakes seem to fall from the ceiling and I grin at my success. I've always preferred the cold to the warmth. While reminding me of Russia, the cold also feels cleaner, more honest.

"Very impressive." I hear a deep, accented voice say. I whirl towards the sound and the temperature drops another few degrees from my surprise. A man in a finely tailored suit stands there, smiling at me. His skin is dark, but his eyes are darker and twinkle in the fluorescent lights. Guessing this is King T'Challa, I release my grip on the atmosphere and bow my head towards him. Damn. I'd say this man is a nine at least. I dig the accent especially.

"Thank you, your highness." I say respectfully and straighten once again.

"My people have stories, legends, of people who can control the four natural elements. It is as if you have come from my very history." He says reverently. He walks over and takes my hand, kissing my knuckles gently. I stare at him in shock as he straightens. I blink to regain my composure. Well, then. Who says chivalry is dead?

"I'd be glad to do a demonstration for you if it interests you so much." I offer politely, flirting with him just a tad.

"I'd like that very much, thank you. But maybe right now is not the best time." He takes me up on it and I nod, agreeing with him. He walks past me and shakes everyone else's hands, ending with Steve. "Are you ready to see your friend?" T'Challa asks Steve. Steve nods with a steely expression and looks to me. I nod, telling him I'm ready too. "Someone will be by in a few minutes to show everyone else to their rooms. I assure you the wait won't be long." T'Challa tells the others and begins walking. I wave to everyone and follow in the back. I breathe deeply to prepare myself for what I'm about to deal with. After walking up a slight incline for a couple minutes, we turn down another long hallway. At the end of it is a metal door that is clearly well enforced. T'Challa opens it with no difficulty, but when I shut it behind us I have to tug at least four times to get it to close. Luckily, the two of them are preoccupied with a fogged up glass cylinder, so they don't notice my faux-pas. I walk over behind them and peek over their shoulders at the oversized Pez dispenser. Faintly, I can see a man dressed in sterling white clothes. It's a big contrast to the dark brown, shoulder length hair on his head. While his body is blurry behind the foggy glass, I can tell that he's missing his left arm. The metal one. I look at his face curiously and find it to be peaceful. As most everyone's is during sleep. He has a strong jaw covered in dark stubble and uneven lips, the bottom is thicker than the top. Speaking of thick, by the size of the container I can tell he is. At least his arm and legs anyway. A nine point nine. And that's when he's frozen.

"And the arm is ready?" Steve speaks, interrupting my observing.

"Yes. Everything is ready. We even have an observation room to stay safe in when we release him from cryofreeze. If you please..." T'Challa gestures to another metal door and I follow him through it. Not hearing Steve behind me, I look over my shoulder to find him just standing in front of Bucky.

"Steve?" I call out to him. He breaks away from looking at Bucky and shakes his head at me.

"I won't leave him. You go. You'll be able to see if I need help." He assures me and T'Challa gently guides me away and into another room with a glass window to watch through. Steve nods at us as soon as the door shuts and King T'Challa presses a little green button. Suddenly, the cylinder jolts and the door begins to open, letting out a burst of misty air as it does. The door slides down until it has completely sunken into the floor and I can completely see the man leaning back in the tube. He makes no movements, but the steady up and down of his chest due to breathing. T'Challa flips another switch and now we can hear Steve talking. There must be intercoms in each room. "Hey, Buck." He says and the words sound so intimate I'm tempted to flip the switch back so they have privacy. "Time to get your ass out of bed. We've even got a new arm for you." Steve continues quietly. "You know, Victoria misses you. She insists you're a much better snuggler than I am." He laughs fondly and the sound echoes through the room. He hesitantly lays a hand on Bucky's shoulder and his eyes finally snap open. To Steve's credit, he doesn't flinch.

"Steve?" The man's voice comes over the speaker. Rough, gruff, and sexy. I almost upgrade him to a ten just on his voice alone, but hold off on my judgement. I don't just name tens willy-nilly. His eyes are tired and disoriented, but I take that as a good sign. Rather that then rage.

"Yeah, it's Steve." Steve confirms and his voice holds more emotion and joy than I've ever heard in his voice before.

"Wh-What's going on?" He murmurs, looking down at the restraints around his body. He starts to tug and I see Steve squeeze his shoulder slightly.

"Hold on. Let me talk you through this." He stops struggling and looks up at Steve with a heartbreaking puppy dog look. "You're in Wakanda. You were just in cryo-freeze so we're going to talk this slowly. King T'Challa has made a new arm for you and we'll attach it soon. First, I need you to steady yourself so everyone knows you are not a danger." Steve tell him in a steady and calm voice. I recognize it as the soldier voice we use to keep the others calm, no matter what the situation. Steve is, after all, a soldier. James Barnes stares into his eyes and listens closely, his muscles relaxing. He takes a couple deep breaths and relaxes back into the cylinder.

"Alright." He responds.

"Good. Now, can you tell me who you are?" Steve asks him gently to try to get him to focus on something concrete. James's brows furrow.

"I-I'm..." He pauses and shakes his head as if to clear the cobwebs from his mind. "My name is Bucky. I'm from Brooklyn, New York where I lived with my best friend Steve." A slight smile graces his lips when he says Steve, but it's just a candle to the sunny smile Steve has on his face right now. "Steve is a lily white, skinny, asthmatic punk who-"

"Yeah, alright. Thanks, Buck." Steve chuckles and Bucky's smile strengthens. I grin at the friendly banter. Hard to believe this guy is supposed to be the world's most dangerous assassin. He seems like any old soldier to me. "Good. Sounds like you're yourself." Steve approves with a wide smile.

"Hold on. How's Victoria? How's your girl?" He asks and his smile turns affectionate. So, even Bucky has met Steve's one-day fiancé. I'm starting to feel a little left out here. Steve chuckles and shakes his head.

"She's good. She'll be here soon, hopefully. Last time we spoke she said she missed you. Told me to tell you she misses your snuggles." Steve says playfully and gets a chuckle out of Bucky. He must be close with this girl. Not that I'm jealous or anything. Just...observant. Bucky's face turns serious as he observes Steve in front of him.

"You think she would be happy to see you not taking care of yourself?" He questions and Steve reflexively rubs a hand over his beard. He sighs.

"I had to go undercover, Buck." He explains, but Bucky's face screams bullshit.

"Shut up, Stevie. You know that isn't what I mean. How long has it been since you took a shower? Got a full night of sleep?" He asks and Steve rests his hands on his belt, his shoulders drooping a little.

"You always did know when I was lying." He says and I hear the slight relief in his voice. I guess it had been a while since someone could read him that easily.

"Of course, I do, punk. I taught you how to play poker." Bucky says and makes Steve smile. He chuckles and shakes his head at the dark-haired man.

"We'll talk later. Promise. For now, let's focus on helping you out." Bucky nods once. Steve then turns and waves at us. T'Challa apparently knows what that means because he presses another button on the wall and medics burst into the room. Then, they cower as if they're running onto a battle field. Bucky and Steve look at them, then back to each other. These people are young. Twenty to twenty-three tops. Despite that, they roll over a little metal cart with a cream cloth covering what I'm guessing is Bucky's new arm.

"They're a little on the young side, aren't they?" I say aloud and receive a deep chuckle from T'Challa.

"We do not discriminate based on age here, Ms. Liya. Whoever shows promise is given the tools necessary to benefit society in whatever way they can. These young people have a gift for technology and engineering. I think once you see the finished project you will be thoroughly impressed." He tells me, his dark eyes glinting in the light. I don't know about the kids, but I am becoming more impressed with the King. His face suddenly turns concerned and I look back out at James and Steve. The arm is now uncovered on the table, but that really isn't of concern. Steve and Bucky are interlocked in hand to hand combat, and despite Bucky's missing limb, he's holding his own.

"You get the medics out and I'll stop Barnes." I give orders to the King reflexively and dash out of the room into the other. Shrieks from the medics fill my ears as well as thuds and grunts from the boys. "Steve! I need you to back away from him!" I shout.

"I'm a little busy!" He shouts back. Huffing, I loop around so I'm behind Barnes and go at him from this side. I can't make a box around him because of Steve, but maybe I can get him to come after me instead. I land two sharp jabs to the small of his back where his kidneys are and he grunts in pain. Shoving Steve roughly away he turns towards me and backhands my face. I feel blood trickle out of my mouth and down my lip, but I smile anyway. This is exactly what I wanted. He marches towards me, still looking hotter than hell, but I roll out of the way before his fist can connect with my face. Once out of arms reach I raise and lower my hands, putting him in an air box. I'm panting slightly, but Barnes is too. He rams his shoulder into my air walls, making me flinch with the sheer force of him. Keeping one hand stretched towards him, I use the other to make a frozen ball. I release him and he instantly charges towards me. I pull my arm back and throw the ball at his balls, effectively knocking him to the ground. I make another frozen ball and march towards him. The moment he looks up at me I slam the ball on the top of his head, shattering it into tiny shards. He slumps to the floor, down for now.

"Phew." I sigh and look around for the others. T'Challa stands at the door, the medics stupidly peeking in through the small window. Steve is standing and staring at Bucky, wiping blood off his nose. Suddenly, Barnes groans and lifts his head. We all tense up, ready to go another round. He shakes his head slowly and pushes himself into a sitting position. He looks up at me with a grimace on his face. I have no doubt he has one hell of a headache.

"Sorry, sorry. I'm me." He says, then looks at me. "Damn. Who the hell are you?" He asks, that voice making goosebumps pop up all over my skin. I relax my stance and smile at the kneeling man.

"My full name is Akilina Vitaliya Adalaida Vasilieva. But for the sake of everyone not butchering my name, call me Liya." I joke with him lightly and wave a hand at the other two so they know they can relax.

"Akilina Vitaliya Adalaida Vasilieva." He says quietly with perfect pronunciation. I pause for a second and look back at him. My breath escapes me when I see his soft smile and bright blue eyes looking up at me. My cheeks heat up and I change his rating right then. Ten. Absolute freaking ten. It's been forever since someone has been able to say my real name like that.

"Impressive." I congratulate him and offer him a hand to get up. He doesn't accept it and instead rises on his own. Awkwardly, I rescind my hand and cross my arms over my chest. I can't remember the last time a man hadn't jumped at the chance to touch me.

"I was in Russia for a while." He tells me as he surveys me. Usually I'd puff myself up with pride at having a man like Barnes look at my body, but not this time. Instead I get a little nervous that he might find some imperfection, some part of me wanting. I fidget, tapping my foot and grasping at the dog tags hanging around my neck for stability as I withstand his scrutiny. When his eyes leave me, I realize I've stopped breathing. Taking a deep breath, I walk back over beside Steve who is looking from me to Bucky curiously.

"Sorry, Steve." Bucky apologizes quietly. Steve shrugs.

"It's alright. You just woke up. You'll need some time to get used to all this again. You'll get better." Steve assures him and it brings a slight smile to his face.

"Shouldn't you have the uniform on if you're going to be my personal cheerleader?" He teases and gets a laugh from Steve.

"Alright, jerk. Medics are just outside the door and are ready to attach your new arm. Liya's going to stay in here with you to make sure you're not a danger, so no worries. I'll be in here too." When Steve tells him I'm watching him, he looks at me with surprise. I shrug.

"I'm tougher than I look." I tell him. He hums interestedly.

"Not sure if that's possible. I only landed one good hit on you." He flatters me and I'm rendered speechless. Guys don't usually compliment me on my battle skills. Unless the bedroom is the battlefield. Pretty sure he didn't flatter me on purpose, but if you're going to flirt with a woman, that's how you do it. My cheeks heat up slightly and I grab a stool and give it to Bucky to sit on to distract myself. He does, but then grabs my wrist and tugs me close to him. I look at his face, slightly stunned. He looks sadder than before, more worried. "You're sure you can handle me?" I swallow at how close his mouth is to mine and all I can do is nod and move a little farther away from him. His blue eyes burn into mine, pleading. They demand honesty and make me feel like an animal is burrowing into my stomach. I'd take him right here, right now, if he'd let me.

"I'm positive, James. I promise, you will not hurt anyone." I swear to him and his grip loosens on my arm. His hand is rough, callused; evidence of hard work. I can't help wondering how the roughness would feel on the rest of my body. I dismiss the thought quickly before I get carried away. James breathes a small sigh of relief and turns to the medics who T'Challa has let back into the room. His hand leaves my arm and I find I can breathe a little easier without him touching me, but I do miss his touch. The medics eyes are full of fear and anxiety. I grab a stool and sit in front of Bucky. He looks at me and now his eyes reflect the interns. Steve comes closer then, and the fear in Bucky's eyes increases. The reason why hits me. He doesn't want to hurt anyone. God, what a sweetie. I swallow the nerves in my throat and try to remember my training. "No, now come on. Don't worry about what they think and don't worry about hurting Steve. What if I...distracted you?" I offer. He looks back at me apprehensively. For just a second, I let my mind run wild with all the things I could do to distract him, then have to reign myself in. Behave, Akilina. "Here." I say and open one of my palms in front of me. "What's your favorite season?" I ask. He looks at me like I'm crazy, but at least there's less fear in his eyes.

"Summer." He responds. I laugh slightly at how ironic that is and snap my fingers to make a flame alight in my hand. Bucky gasps and grabs onto my hand to put out the flame. I laugh at a normal volume just as they start work on his arm. It comes out far more nervous than I would have liked, but definitely not from fear of him. His focus is fully on me now and isn't paying attention to the medics. That's exactly what I want.

"No, no. It's alright." I assure him. I snap to make fire once again return. "Now, don't put it out. I swear it doesn't hurt. You can even put your hand over it." He stares at it in fascination, but doesn't move his hand. Hesitantly, I touch his hand to put it in the fire, but he pulls away immediately. I frown. I'm not used to someone who doesn't fall into my touch. Turning, I take Steve's hand and hold it over the flickering flame. He manages to stay calm and soon I don't have to hold his hand there anymore. He wiggles his fingers in my flame and chuckles to himself. Looking back at Bucky I bring my hand back and offer the flame to him. Barnes considers the flame for a moment, then shoves his hand in the fire as if to prevent him from changing his mind. After a few moments, he stares down at his hand in wonder, then looks up at me. I breathe in sharply at the firelight captured within his blue eyes. They're lighter than mine, but greener than Steve's. But they hold more emotion than I think I've ever felt in my life.

"That's incredible." He whispers and his breath slides across my lips. Without thinking I part them, breathing him in. Bucky has to make a sound of discomfort to make me return to reality. I talk before he can get too distracted by the medics still attaching his arm. Steve stands beside us, but he stays silent.

"Thanks. Um, what's your favorite color?" I ask and his attention returns to me.

"Blue." Steve answers for him and gets Bucky to smile a little. I nod.

"What kind of blue? Like Steve's eyes?" I tease him just a little bit. I hear Steve scoff next to us, but Bucky's eyes don't leave mine which makes it very hard for me to keep thinking clearly.

"No, not like Steve's." He tells me. His mouth releases Steve's name tenderly, I suppose he's one of the few good things Bucky remembers from his past life. I find him wanting to say my name like that, the same way he says Steve's. "More like yours." He adds, then looks down at the flame once again. My lips twitch at the compliment and I swallow anxiously. Geez, I'm never this antsy around a guy. I look down at the flame again and turn it the exact shade of my eyes. Bucky's face lights up as he watches it flicker in my hand. "How is this possible?" He asks me incredulously. I laugh at the wonder on his face. I think this is the most I've laughed since coming home.

"Well, in short; magic." I explain shortly. I don't feel like telling him the story right now. He lets out a bark of a laugh.

"You are definitely magic." He says without thinking. I can tell because his smile falters afterwards, not intending to have said that out loud. It's an endearing sight and it makes my heart flutter in a way that I'm not used to. He asks me another question quickly, "Uh, can you only do it with fire?" I shake my head.

"No, I, uh, I can do it with air, water, and earth too. Earth is the hardest for me to manipulate and I can't show you that one since there's no earth in here, but..." I ramble on a bit. I clench my fist and the fire disappears. I wave a hand and water appears within it. It's a little more difficult to do, but I manage to make a miniature Labrador puppy out of it. I animate it, letting it wag its tail, flop its ears, even lick Bucky's nose when he leans down to see it. He laughs genuinely at that and I throw the small ball of water at Steve, causing Bucky to laugh a little harder. I might have to upgrade him to an eleven for just that laugh. Steve is too happy to be upset, although he is now dripping slightly. He just keeps staring at Bucky and I, shock on his face. Next, I make a small tornado in my hand. The breeze causes Bucky's hair to blow back from his handsome face and makes me see how truly attractive the man is. Especially when he smiles.

"You're done!" I hear a medic pronounce and the loud noise has me jumping away from James in surprise. The tornado dies in my hand as Bucky blinks at me, surprised at my sudden movement. He stands and flexes his new metal arm after he regains his composure. And holy shit, that's hot. T'Challa dismisses the medics and they scurry away from all of us.

"You are as impressive as I thought you were, Miss Liya. It was a pleasure to watch you at work." He flatters me. I grimace slightly at the compliment. It's in poor taste. Then, he looks at Bucky and Steve. "I hope you like the arm, Mr. Barnes. I assure you that you are safe here, but to insure the safety of everyone else we do have a special room for you. May I escort you there?" He asks politely and gestures towards the door. Bucky hesitates a moment before nodding. He spares me one last glance before letting T'Challa lead the way. We all follow T'Challa out the room and to yet another hallway. There's a door just to the right that we enter. Once again, the door is heavy as hell. I let Steve shut it this time. The room is pure white. White bed, white sheets, white comforter, white dresser, white floor, ceiling, and walls. Unlike the rest of the facility, the room has no windows. "This is it. Through that door there is another room with a bathroom. I thought it would be safer if you had someone else sleeping nearby who could...look after you. Whomever you chose, of course. Have a good evening." He bids us farewell and leaves us in the room.

"Alright, Buck. As much as I'd love to be roommates again, I think Liya's the better choice. Pretty sure she can handle you better than I can. I will be just around the corner though, so you won't miss me too much. As long as that's okay with you, Liya?" Steve makes sure I'm alright with the arrangement, but he has a noticeably mischevious smile on his face. I nod immediately. The only issue that I have is that I'm not sure I can keep my hands-off Bucky at this proximity.

"I-uh, well. I will-um. Sure. Yes, that's fine." I stutter and resist the urge to slap myself. "If it's alright with Mr. Barnes, of course." I turn to James who has crossed his arms and is shooting Steve a suspicious glare. I'm guessing he's seen that mischevious smile quite a few times before. His eyes go to me and I find myself getting fidgety from just the weight of them on me. He nods once.

"Alright. I'll go grab your stuff from the jet, Liya. You two get to know your uh...your rooms." Steve says with a bright smile before jogging out. I watch Steve leave and struggle to ignore the ice blue eyes I can feel on me. Of course, Steve would leave us by ourselves. Freaking ass.