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The quinjet was quiet for the most part. The only sounds to be heard came from the hum of the jet engine, as well as the sound of everyone's hushed breathing and Natasha and Steve's occasional whispered conversations. To say that everyone was exhausted from the day's events was an understatement, especially to Marlena. She had spent an additional twelve hours training beforehand, which was exhausting on its own, no matter how used to the exercise her body was. Then she was forced into a skills assessment before actually being sent into what she felt was a real life battle. Her adrenaline had finally settled, and she was more than ready to fall asleep for the next three months, but she doubted she would be able to get to that point.

She sat beside Bucky, her legs wrapped around his waist and her arms holding his metal one so tightly as if she were afraid he would disappear. Sam sat in a seat across from them, while Steve and Natasha sat in the corner of the quinjet (which was on autopilot) closest to the cockpit, each of them engaged in conversation with one another.

Marlena dozed off, just as she had been doing throughout the hour since they'd left the facility. Her head rested against the wall, but as her body relaxed in an attempt to finally succumb to the sleep she so desperately needed, her head fell onto Bucky's (metal) shoulder, inflicting a sharp pain in her temple, a pain that disappeared mere seconds later, leaving only a dull ache behind.

"Ow." Marlena frowned as she rubbed the side of her head and sat back up, now fully awake.

Sam laughed at her small misfortune, while Bucky merely raised a brow at the small girl. He found it rather peculiar that only an hour ago she was taking out Hydra agents left and right with no problem whatsoever, yet here she was claiming defeat by a small hit to the head. To him, it was cute and amusing at the same time.

"Are you tired?" Sam asked her.

She sighed and removed her legs from around Bucky's waist before pulling her knees to her chest. "Well, I spent twelve hours training today, and then I had this stupid skills assessment to do for Rumlow, and then you guys showed up, so no, I'm not tired—I'm utterly exhausted."

The sound of Rumlow's name sent a wave of anger into Bucky's body, but he rid himself of it by focusing his attention on Marlena. She was with him, and that was all that mattered to him.

"Oh yeah," Steve spoke as he got up from his seat and walked over, Natasha trailing closely behind him. "Do you think now is a good time to begin story telling?"

Marlena shrugged and hugged her knees tighter to her chest. "What story would you like me to tell?"

"How about telling us why you look like the female version of the Winter Soldier," Sam chuckled.

Marlena took a deep breath and glanced at Bucky before looking back at Sam. "Prodigy and the Winter Soldier—they were meant to be partners, and what kind of partners don't have matching suits?"

"Prodigy?" Bucky asked, his brow raised.

"That's what Rumlow called me," she answered simply.

The four of them exchanged confused glances, and they sat in silence for several seconds until Natasha spoke up.

"Well, do you think you're down to talk about what happened to you back there?" she questioned, catching Marlena's attention. "I mean, not many people are lucky enough to get away from Hydra."

Marlena let out a shaky breath and nodded before beginning her tale about her grueling endeavor with the Hydra organization.

She knew that recalling everything she went through with Hydra would overwhelm her with emotions, but she felt that she needed to talk about it in order to find some sort of closure in regards to the endless amount of physical and emotional torture she was subject to during the few months she was imprisoned in the facility. A simple conversation would never be able to completely take away the pain she had felt every single day for nearly three months—nothing would—but she hoped talking about it with people she knew and people she trusted would at least bury the pain to the point of it not being so unbearable, and it did. . .to an extent. She would always carry some part of it with her, just as Bucky would, but she definitely would not allow that to rule her life. Now that she had been liberated, she was going to focus on the things in her life that made her happy, the things that helped bury the pain deeper: her family, her friends, and Bucky.

It took close to fifteen minutes for Marlena to finish telling the tale of her time at Hydra. Natasha, Steve, and Sam looked at Marlena with expressions of shock and admiration on their faces, while Bucky seemed to be torn over how he should feel. He hated listening to Marlena talk about how much pain Hydra had put her through, yet he also admired her for never giving up while she was there, as he remembered wanting to do countless times during his imprisonment with Hydra.

"You're a strong one, I'll give you that," Natasha chimed as she leaned back into her chair.

"Well," Marlena started as she grabbed a hold of Bucky's hand, twirling it around in her own. "I had something to fight for."

Bucky squeezed her hand as lightly as possible and pulled her close to him, pressing a kiss to her temple. Marlena sighed in content and wrapped her arms around his torso, nestling herself into his body. She never wanted to leave his side, ever. If it was up to her she would stay wrapped up in Bucky's arms forever. He was her safe haven, her home, the one person she knew she wouldn't be able to live without. She loved him unconditionally and would for the remainder of her time on Earth, no matter how long or short that time may be.

Natasha and Sam watched the couple with a smile on their faces, although Sam's was more along the lines of a snide smirk. Steve, however, sat in his chair with furrowed eyebrows, still contemplating the details of the story Marlena had just uttered to the four of them. Something wasn't right with it, something wasn't right with her, and it was gnawing dangerously at the very edges of Steve's mind. All he wanted was to understand how it was possible, why it was possible. . .

"Marlena?" Steve spoke.

Marlena looked over at him, her hold on Bucky remaining. "Yeah, Steve?"

"You said they brainwashed you," he started nervously. "But you show no signs of memory loss whatsoever. How were you able to resist but Bucky wasn't?"

Marlena furrowed her eyebrows. She, too, had been wondering the same thing for the past few months, though she never really asked herself the question. She always assumed it was because of her determination not to let go of her family or Bucky, not to let go of her life; she assumed it was because of her refusal to be made into what Hydra wanted her to be, but now that she began to think about it she knew that couldn't possibly be the reasoning for the failed brainwash attempt. If Bucky was not able to resist the excruciating process of memory deterioration, then Marlena highly doubted she would be able to either. She had no clue what was responsible for her resistance, but she wasn't complaining about it at all.

"I don't know," she answered Steve quietly. "I honestly have no clue."

Steve frowned as he tried to further understand, but he didn't continue questioning her about the matter.

The jet grew quiet, and after several minutes everyone fell back into what they had previously been doing. Steve and Natasha were back at the cockpit conversing with each other, Sam was sitting opposite of Bucky and Marlena with a tablet in his hand, and Bucky and Marlena still sat in their spot against the wall of the jet, both of them basking in the glory of each other's presence. Neither of them spoke, but that was okay. They were more than okay with just sitting there admiring the loving sensation they received from being pressed against one another.

As Marlena slightly tightened her grip around Bucky's torso, a new feeling emerged inside her, confusing her slightly. It felt almost as if something had clicked inside her mind; it was like someone had flipped the ON switch within her brain. Before she could even begin to process what was happening, she found herself on what looked to be some sort of aircraft which seemed to be on the verge of total destruction.

Marlena could see flashes of Steve's face and feelings that she could not seem to make out before squeezing her eyes shut. It was as if she was seeing a vision—a horrible vision of herself punching Steve over and over in the face, his once beautiful features now swollen and bruised.

The flashes turned into a steady picture, Steve below her, his blue eyes begging for something—something she could not understand until she paid close attention. Her left arm was metal—his left arm was metal. It was not hers, but Bucky's fist that continued to collide with Steve's cheek.

This was not a vision; it was a memory. She was somehow inside of Bucky's mind, experiencing one of his darkest memories. She could feel the guilt; it was overwhelming her, willing her to stop, but she—Bucky—couldn't. He had to complete his mission, and his mission was to kill Captain America.

Before she could stop it from happening, Steve was falling, plummeting towards the water below the helicarrier. Marlena watched in horror as Steve went under, her body also leaving the helicarrier moments after.

Bucky had jumped; he could not let Steve, his best friend, die. As Marlena felt her oxygen cut off, she was jolted backwards and she opened her eyes to see Bucky staring down at her. His worried expression told her that he had no earthly idea of what had just happened and quite honestly, she hadn't the slightest idea either.

"Marlena? Are you okay?" Bucky asked, his metal arm scooping her up from where she laid on her back on the floor.

She didn't respond at first; she just stared back at him, the feeling of guilt still looming over her. She glanced over at Sam, then Natasha, and Steve. Their eyebrows were all pulled down in confusion as to why the newly trained soldier had fallen out of her seat; Bucky had always known Marlena to be clumsy, but this wasn't that. Something was wrong, and he desperately needed to know what.

"Marlena, what's wrong?" Bucky asked frantically this time.

Her hand rested lightly on his arm as he hoisted her onto the seat beside him.

A new image flashed in her head as her skin made contact with his. This time she saw a large bedroom. There was a desk and a computer in the corner of the room, in which Sam was sitting in front of. On the screen was a picture and a word document; she didn't recognize the word document, but the picture she did. It was one of the many pictures Rumlow had taken of her to send to Bucky, and it was then that she realized she was once again inside his memories. An overwhelming amount of pain rushed into her body as she—Bucky—realized who the girl in the picture was. Mindless chatter could be heard, and before she knew it, Bucky's metal fist was barreling towards the monitor.

Marlena was removed from her trance once again, and the moment she found her way back to reality she ripped her hand away from Bucky and stood up, backing slightly away from him and everyone else on the jet. She was growing frustrated and slightly afraid; she wanted to know what the hell was going on with her, and she wanted to know now.

"Marlena?" Bucky spoke again, slight sadness lingering in his tone from her actions.

Marlena ignored him and looked around at the group of four staring at her. "I-I don't know what's going on with me. Something inside my head. . ."

She trailed off as realization struck her. There was only one reasonable explanation for what was going on inside her mind, and she scolded herself for not realizing it earlier.

Hydra's mentality serum had finally settled itself inside her.

She remembered Rumlow talking about how Bucky was to be the physical aspect of the team, while she was to be the mental aspect of it. To her, this was the only thing that made any kind of sense, but she hated that it had taken so long to make an appearance. Had it shown up earlier she would know how to control it; had it shown up earlier, she wouldn't currently be freaking out about it.

"Der'mo (Shit)," she grumbled in Russian, earning a surprised look from Bucky and a chuckle from Natasha. Sam and Steve merely exchanged confused glances with one another, unsure of what the small brunette had just uttered to herself.

"Did you just swear?" Bucky questioned, with a low chuckle. "In Russian?"

Bucky was surprised with the fact that she knew how to speak Russian, but he was more surprised with the fact that Marlena had actually cursed. It was unlike her to do so, and even though he knew something was seriously wrong with her at the moment he couldn't help but be amused at the sound of her swearing.

Marlena rolled her eyes at him and strolled over to Steve. "Now is definitely not the time, Barnes."

Steve looked up at a hesitant Marlena with furrowed eyebrows. "What's wrong, Marlena?"

Marlena's hand twitched with anticipation, and she let out a sigh before grabbing Steve's hand in her own. The only way to further prove her theory correct was by testing it on someone other than Bucky. She just hoped she stumbled upon a happy memory of Steve's; that is, if she was actually able to stumble upon a memory at all.

As soon as she came in contact with his skin, memories flooded into her mind and she came across one specific memory that came clearer to her than all the rest. To her dismay, Steve's memory was anything but enjoyable.

It was cold—deathly cold—and fear surged through her body as her eyes found a frightened, short-haired and smooth-faced Bucky clinging for life on the side of a moving train.

Marlena could only hold on to Steve's hand for a few seconds, but it was enough to give her a crystal clear picture of how much Steve really cared about his friend. All these years, had Steve felt the guilt that she had just been overwhelmed with as she relived his memory?

"It wasn't your fault, Steve," she managed to choke out before she backed away from him, returning to her seat.

"What are you talking about, Marlena?" Sam chimed in, his own concern growing, despite not knowing Marlena very well.

She was that type of person—the type of girl that you felt as if you could trust her and that you had known her your whole life, yet you still wanted to learn more about her. At least, that was how Bucky felt about Marlena. He needed to know what was going on with her, and he desperately hoped it had nothing to do with Hydra. He did not want her undergoing the same pain he went through; she was lucky enough to still have her memories.

"Mar, you're worrying me. What is it?" Bucky stood up, his hand reaching for her, but she stepped out of reach before they made contact.

"You can't touch me," Marlena said bluntly, still shocked by the memory she had just seen, "I mean, not right now."

"What do you mean? I haven't seen you in months, how am I supposed to not touch you?" Bucky's lips pulled into a frown, his eyebrows furrowed.

He could tell when she was upset; he could always tell.

"While I was there—in Hydra—I was injected with this 'mentality serum' or so they called it," she began trying to explain, though it was hard to do, "and Rumlow wouldn't speak much about it around me, but he did tell me that once they had the Winter Soldier—you—back in custody, you would be the physical aspect of our partnership; I would have been the mental aspect."

"What does that mean? You have powers now?" Sam questioned, slightly annoyed that Marlena was given powers and he relied on mechanical wings to even be considered an Avenger.

"Shut up, Wilson. Keep talking, Marlena." Natasha shot Sam a warning look before returning her attention to the brunette.

Bucky still stood inches away from her, trying his best to respect her request for him to keep his distance. It was hard, though; after all, a few hours ago he had thought her to be dead.

"I guess the serum took a while to kick in and when I touched Bucky," Marlena looked down at her hands and then at the super solider, "I could see into his mind—one of his memories."

Bucky tensed up, his face turning slightly red. What had she seen? He didn't want Marlena looking into his mind; it was a dark place, and before meeting her, he had done some terrible things. Winter had done some terrible things.

Marlena could instantly tell that her words had brought Bucky discomfort and she took his hand without thinking. It was instinct for her to comfort him when he began building his walls back up.

"Bucky," Marlena tried, but another one of his memories was already channeling into her mind.

As if it were a switch, Marlena tried blocking it out, not wanting to invade his privacy anymore without permission. It seemed to work; she could feel it, though, pushing and trying to get through, but she held it at bay.

"What did you see?" His blue eyes avoided hers, as if he couldn't look her in the eyes—as if he was ashamed of the dark memories he had buried so deep within his mind.

"Nothing," she shook her head, not wanting to bring up that part of his past, especially with the others watching—Steve specifically.

However, Marlena couldn't lie to Bucky. That was one thing she had never done, and she didn't plan on starting it today.

"I saw the fight—between you and Steve. He fell into the water, and you jumped in after him," Marlena glanced at Steve, his own gaze shifting uneasily to the floor, "and then it was over."

Bucky nodded, his pained eyes trailing over to Steve. The air was heavy around them, and Natasha and Sam did not dare say a word. This was a sensitive topic, mostly for Bucky. He had worked so hard, with Marlena's help, to rid himself of the assassin that Hydra had constructed him to be. Bucky was a changed man, yet Winter still seemed to have some control over him—over his emotions.

"I'm so sorry, Steve." Bucky's voice was dry and full of sorrow, his eyes tired.

"It wasn't your fault, Buck. It wasn't you," Steve answered, his expression distant, as if he was now reliving the awful memory in his mind.

"When I touched Steve," Marlena continued, "I saw you fall from the train, Bucky."

Bucky stepped back, his hand slipping out of Marlena's slowly as he sat back in his seat. He pulled the tie out of his hair, releasing it from his man bun.

"I think we've heard enough for now, Marlena." Natasha stood up, the heel of her boots clicking across the floor as she made her way to the cockpit.

Nat took the quinjet off of auto pilot and glanced over at Steve, his head hung low. She wasn't one to show much concern for others, but when it came to Steve, she couldn't help but worry, and now, she also showed concern for Bucky—mostly because of his friendship with Steve.

Marlena sighed as she sat next to Bucky, feeling guilty, herself, for ever mentioning the memories in the first place. She leaned back in her seat, her head dropping onto Bucky's shoulder as silence settled over them, and she finally gave into her exhaustion.