Marlena pulled her shirt back over her head as she ran down the stairs, more than thankful that Clint and his family, along with Sam, Steve, and Tony had left the house for the day. Pietro and Wanda still remained at the house, but the two were too busy catching up with one another to even bother noticing what had went on in Marlena's room just several minutes ago, and because of that she was glad. She felt bad, however, for making Levi wait so long for her to show up. He had sent her a text message telling her that he had been waiting outside for her for quite some time, and this prompted the end of Marlena's time with Bucky.

She shoved the front door open and stepped onto the porch, finally managing to get her shirt situated over her shoulders. Levi, who stood in the grass, looked over at her, his brow raising slightly as he took in her appearance. The shirt she had worked so hard to put on was on backwards, her hair was everywhere, and her skin was flushed, as well as what looked to be a bit clammy. He didn't even need to ask her anything at all to know what she had just finished doing.

"Your shirt's on backwards, Mar," Levi told her with a chuckle.

Marlena looked down at her shirt and cussed, though she decided against fixing it. "Whatever, I don't even care," she grumbled as she pulled her messy hair into an elastic. . .well, as much as she could.

"Aside from your disgruntled hair and clothes, you're glowing." Levi smirked, "Barnes must really know what he's doing."

"Don't talk about it," Marlena said, clearing her throat awkwardly.

Levi chuckled. "I was gonna be mad at you for leaving me out here for fifteen damn minutes, but I'll let it slide. . .just like you let him slide-"

"Levi, shut up!" Marlena exclaimed, her cheeks reddening with embarrassment. "Can we just do this so I can go back inside and sleep?"

"You mean go back inside and finish off what you started with your little boyfriend?"

"Fiancé, but yeah," Marlena breathed out, slightly annoyed that Levi was just a clone of Sam.

Levi's eyes widened at the sound of her words, and he moved towards her, placing his hands on her shoulders and shaking her lightly. "You're engaged? What the fuck, Marlena? When were you gonna tell me this crucial piece of information?"

Marlena shushed him and covered his mouth with her hand. "Shut up, idiot. You and Sam are the only ones who know, and as of right now I would like to keep it that way."

"Oh, my little baby is growing up," Levi cooed as he wrapped her in a tight hug.

"You're such an idiot," Marlena chuckled as she hugged him back.

"An idiot that you love."

"Whatever."

★ ★ ★

"C'mon, you can do way better than that, Levi," Marlena scolded her friend.

She placed her hands on her hips and looked down at where he lay on the ground, a small smirk coming onto her face as she did so. The two were now in the middle of one of their training sessions, rather than their usual run to his property and back to Clint's three times. Levi never thought that fighting against Marlena without the use of her powers would be difficult at all, but she was still very much in touch with her physical combatant skills, and Levi could hardly keep up, even after so many weeks. Though his skills seemed to get better with each session, Marlena could still overpower him with ease. This was what she had originally been trained for only two years ago.

"You kicked me in the face, Marlena!" he exclaimed as he pulled himself off the ground. "I knew I should've asked Clint to train me when I had the chance."

Marlena scoffed. "Clint could throw his back out. You need someone in perfect health to show you how to defend yourself."

Levi simply grunted and took a stance in front of her, gesturing her towards him. "Okay, let's do this."

"Why don't you make a move towards me this time?" Marlena chuckled as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Levi cursed under his breath and shook his head before making a move towards Marlena, who still stood several feet away from him with her arms crossed over her chest. He threw a punch at her, but she grabbed his fist in her palm and delivered a swift kick to his abdomen. He let out a pained grunt and leaned over, but before he could even think about the slight pain in his stomach, Marlena had used his downed position to hoist herself onto his shoulders. With her legs locked around his throat and shoulders, she gave her body an abrupt twist. The momentum of it sent Levi flipping to the ground, while Marlena was able to steady herself back on the ground as she had been before.

"Damn it, Marlena!" Levi exclaimed form the ground, coughing several times in an attempt to catch his breath.

"You okay?" Marlena questioned him nonchalantly.

Levi looked up at her, a small glare on his face. "Since when do you choke people with your thighs?"

"Since Natasha Romanoff became sort of a mentor to me," she chuckled.

"If this is how assassin's fight-"

"That's just how Marlena fights," Bucky's voice cut him off.

Marlena and Levi turned their heads to look at the approaching super-soldier, who was now dressed in a tight black t-shirt, grey sweatpants, and black Nike tennis shoes. He looked almost as if he was ready to work out, which surprised Marlena slightly.

"The fiancé is here! I see you've managed to recover from your very tiresome journey inside Marlena here," Levi said as he stood up.

"Oh my gosh." Marlena shook her head at Levi, and with a simple flick of her glowing fingers, he was falling back down to the ground.

Bucky raised a brow as he looked at Levi, his gaze soon falling upon Marlena. "That was rude, Mar."

"What are you doing out here?" she asked him, ignoring his remark.

Bucky made his way to Levi and pulled him off of the ground before looking at Marlena, a small smirk on his face. "I'm out here to show your friend what you're trying to show him, only I know I can do it better."

"Wait," Levi spoke cautiously. "I know that little shit told you what I said about you, because she told me. Please tell me you're not about to go full Winter Soldier on my ass because of it; I didn't mean it, I swear, and I'm only saying that because I know you can kill me with your pinky finger."

"As much as what you said disturbed the shit out of me, I'd never hurt you. Not on purpose at least," Bucky assured him. "As long as you remain true to your nature and don't try anything with my Marlena, then I have no reason to want to harm you."

Levi scoffed. "She looks revolting. You have absolutely nothing to worry about, my friend."

"At least I don't look like the inside of a scrotum," Marlena murmured.

"You would know what that looks like, wouldn't you?" Levi smirked.

"You more so than me, you whorish piece of shit," Marlena countered.

"I love you, too, cupcake."

"Wow," Bucky breathed out. "Aren't you two the ultimate pair? Can't believe I ever thought you liked her. Now, are you willing to train with me or not? She's not teaching you shit."

Marlena raised her brows at Bucky. "I'm gonna pretend you didn't just insult my fighting skills so I don't have to kick your ass in front of Levi."

"I didn't insult you, baby," Bucky chuckled.

"Y'know, I actually wouldn't mind watching you two go at it," Levi said, picking his water bottle off of the ground. "I'd actually like to see how that played out. I need a break anyway. I'm pretty sure you ruptured one of my kidneys, Mar."

Bucky chuckled and shook his head. "She wouldn't last three seconds. She's always been afraid of me."

"She chokes people with her thighs!" Levi retorted. "I don't see how someone who chokes people with their thighs could be afraid of anyone, even you and your Winter Soldier-ness."

"That's because I'm not," Marlena told Levi. "Bucky's just full of himself; he loves dominance."

Levi wiggled his eyebrows at the couple. "How kinky."

"Not what I meant, idiot," Marlena said with a roll of her eyes.

"Are you two gonna fight or what?" Levi asked.

"No."

Bucky let out a breath and moved towards her, much to her despair.

"Get away from me, Bucky," Marlena warned as she took a few steps backward.

Bucky smirked and shook his head, grabbing her before she had the chance to run off. "I've missed our training sessions together, Mar."

"I haven't," Marlena laughed as she elbowed him in the stomach, managing to maneuver herself out of his arms.

"You're so aggressive," Bucky grumbled.

"Don't act like you don't enjoy it, Barnes," Levi called to him.

Marlena laughed, while Bucky shot Levi a glare before turning back to Marlena. She was so lost in laughing that she didn't have the time to move before Bucky threw her over his shoulder. This only made her laugh harder.

"Put me down, shitface," she said as he began walking.

Bucky simply ignored her and turned to Levi. "Is there a body of water around here anywhere? She needs a lesson on how to be more respectful to her elders."

"Yes, there's a small swimming hole just through those trees there," Levi told him.

Marlena's eyes widened slightly and she grasped on tightly to Bucky's shoulders. "If you don't let me go right now, I swear you will live to regret it, James Barnes."

"I'm not afraid of you, Marlena," Bucky replied calmly.

"That's a lie," she grumbled as she attempted to remove herself from his arms. "You've told me multiple times just how afra-"

Marlena stopped talking the moment she was met with an abnormally peculiar feeling that seemed to be radiating from the house. She could hear the frantic mind of Wanda from inside, as well as the estranged mind of Pietro, and this confused Marlena, yet it also worried her.

"Bucky, something's wrong," Marlena spoke frantically. "Put me down, please."

Bucky chuckled. "If this is your way of trying to save yourself, it's not gonna wor-"

A loud scream cut him off, and the three snapped their heads over to the house. It was Wanda who had screamed, that much both Bucky and Marlena knew, but what they didn't know was why. Her mind was moving at a pace too quick for Marlena to keep up with, and that scared her to death.

"Wanda," Marlena said as Bucky finally released her.

"What the hell just happened?" Levi exclaimed as he followed behind Marlena and Bucky into the house.

Marlena ran inside, thankful that no one else was at the house, and headed up the stairs. "That's what we're about to find out."

The three of them ran into Wanda's room to find her sitting up against her bed frame with her knees hugged to her chest and a small, bleeding gash along her forehead. Bucky and Marlena rushed over to her immediately, while Levi stayed by the door, unsure of what he should do.

"Wanda," Marlena spoke as she laid a hand down on her hand, startling her slightly.

"What happened to you, Wan?" Bucky asked as he wiped the blood from her tear-stained face, worry lacing his tone.

Wanda looked at the two of them with wide, fear-filled green eyes. "Pietro. I don't-I don't know what's wrong with him. We w-were just having a n-nice chat and then he asked me about Lagos and he snapped out of nowhere. He shoved me into the wall and then threw me to the floor; I hit my head on the bedside table when I fell," she told the two of them.

"Where is he now?" Marlena asked her.

"I don't know. He ran off, but I can still hear him," Wanda said, her bottom lip trembling as she thought back to the events that had just taken place. She couldn't get the expression Pietro had on his face out of her mind; she couldn't forget the way his bright blue eyes darkened to a blue so cold, so sinister-looking; she couldn't get the words he had said to her out of her mind. Whoever it was that had attacked her was not Pietro, but at the same time it was, and Wanda wasn't sure how she should feel about it. All she knew it the moment was that she was brokenhearted.

Marlena let out a breath and stood up. "So can I. I'll be right back."

Bucky gave her a warning look. "Marlena-"

"I'll be fine. It's just Pietro," she grumbled before running out of the room, leaving Levi and Bucky to tend to an injured Wanda.

Marlena made her way down the stairs as quickly as she could, the sound of Pietro's seemingly demented mind growing louder and louder inside her head. She wasn't sure what was going on at all. All she knew was that Pietro wasn't himself. He would never in a million years think about hurting Wanda, but he had. Something was wrong with him, and Marlena could tell just by listening to his mind. She just wasn't sure exactly what it was.

"Pietro," she spoke cautiously as she entered into the kitchen, gazing around for any sight of him. "I can hear you. Come out and talk to me, Pietro-talk to me about what happened with you and Wanda. I know you didn't mean to hurt her."

She barely had the time to think or react before she was being slammed into a wall. Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked at her younger cousin in front of her, and she opened her mouth to speak to him but was cut off by him wrapping his fist around the base of her throat.

"Yeah?" Pietro spat at her. "What if I did mean it? What if I meant it just like I'm meaning to do it to you? You're both killers; you don't deserve to live."

"What. . .are you. . .talking. . .about?" Marlena forced out, though it was difficult to speak; Pietro's hold on her throat was only getting tighter.

Pietro gave her a snide smirk. "Lagos. Do you not recall? All those innocent people lost at the destructive hands of you and my sister-two of the most powerful human beings in the world. The world is better off without you-the world is safer without you."

Part of Marlena knew that every single one of his words were true, but the other part of her was too busy focusing on the lack of oxygen in her body to pay it much mind. She could hardly even think enough to speak telepathically to Bucky due to the lack of oxygen to her brain. The only thing she could think to do to protect herself was to put him to sleep.

"Once I take care of you, I'll head upstairs to finish off my dear old sister," Pietro said to her.

Marlena raised her hand to his face as quickly as her weakened body would allow her and curled her fingers in front of her, sending a blue wisp of her energy shooting towards her angry cousin. She watched as his irises lit up with the blue color before his eyes shut, sending him falling to the ground with a thud. Marlena took a deep breath the moment she was released and fell to the floor, clutching the base of her throat with a single hand. She used the other to hold herself steady as she gazed over at Pietro's unconscious body with sad eyes. There was something wrong with him, something that she wished dearly to know.

"Marlena," Bucky's frantic voice sounded.

She looked over to see him rushing into the kitchen. His face fell when he saw just how red her face, along with the fact she was holding her throat in a death grip. He knelt down beside her, placing a hand on the small of her back.

"Mar, what happened?"

Marlena simply pointed to Pietro, unable to find the words to speak. Her throat was killing her, much worse than it had been after her altercation with Bucky a few months ago. Pietro had likely damaged her vocal chords while trying to "take care of her."

Get him, please, Marlena spoke telepathically.

"Why can't you speak?"

Just get him, Bucky.

Bucky sighed and pulled her off of the floor before moving to get Pietro. He hoisted the boy off of the ground and threw him over his shoulder with ease, following behind Marlena as she made her way back up the stairs. She entered into Wanda's room, where she was now sitting on the bed with Levi taking care of her head wound beside her. Marlena gestured Bucky to lay Pietro down on the bed, and he did.

"What the hell just happened, Marlena?" Bucky asked as he watched gaze down at Pietro.

She glanced up at him before looking back down at her cousin. Something is wrong with him, and I'm trying to figure it out.

"Why the hell can't you speak to me?"

"Because her vocal chords are damaged," Wanda said to Bucky, her voice cracking slightly. "He tried to kill her-he actually tried to kill her. Had she not acted the way she did, he would have."

Bucky pressed his lips into a tight line, his entire demeanor changing as he looked from Wanda to Pietro to Marlena. "Marlena, is that true?"

"Yes," she forced out through the pain, though her voice was hoarse.

Bucky's face contorted in anger as he looked back down at the sleeping figure of Marlena's cousin. He didn't care that he was her family; in that moment, all he wanted to do was hurt him for hurting Marlena.

"If you dare lay a hand on him, Bucky, I swear it won't end well for you," Marlena coughed out. "He's my family, and for some reason he isn't himself. You know all too well what that feels like. If you wanna do something, help me help him."

Bucky let out a breath. "But how?"

"Call Stark please," Wanda instructed him and Levi. "He is the one who brought Pietro back, and whatever he did to do it screwed with his mind. That is not my brother, and I want to know why."