Chapter Six
Soroya

"Nakia told me something yesterday." Bucky mumbles. His metal fingers are trailing lightly up and down my arm, with his real arm under my head.

"Hmm?" I ask, not entirely awake.

"She told me you visited me in the lab while I was in cryo," He says softly, and the tenderness in his voice makes me force my eyes open. When I look at his face, he looks moved, he almost looks disbelieving. "Is that true?"

I bring one of my hands up, tucking a piece of his hair behind his ear before gently stroking his cheek. "Of course I did. I went and saw you every single day."

"But why? You knew I was safe and you knew you couldn't talk to me..." he trails off.

I shake my head, curling myself up against his chest, resting my head just below his chin. "Why? Because I love you and I couldn't stand being apart from you."

I feel him release a shaky breath, kissing the top of my head gently. I hate how he can't fathom someone loving him. I've made a vow to myself I will spend the rest of my life showing him the love he deserves. Hopefully one day he'll come to love himself and believe that he's the good person I know he is.

"I wish we could stay like this forever." He murmurs to me, running his metal fingers through my hair. I still have my head resting against his chest, and I listen to the steady beat of his heart, determining I'll never get tired of hearing that noise.

"Me too...but I have a feeling Alex will come in any moment telling us to get up."

And as I called it, Alex knocks on the door a few minutes later. We tell him to come in, and the moment I see the look on his face, I know this isn't a normal wake up call.

"Turn your tv on. Channel 8."

I lean over towards the nightstand and do as he says, finding the news channel popping up onto my screen. The red haired news women has the same grave look on her face Alex does as she reports:

"This morning thirty two men and women tragically lost their lives in Hamburg, Germany. Police have been on the scene since early this morning. Not much has been said about the nature of their deaths, but one police officer confirms this was no accident and we could be discussing a possible genocide."

I glance over at Bucky, then to Alex, nodding my head. "We're leaving in twenty minutes."

-

Bucky decided to stay in the ship, which was probably a smart idea given his name is still adorning FBI wanted posters. Khari decided to stay behind with Bucky to keep him company. I really appreciate this. I loved that the two of them are starting to bond.

Alex and I make our way off the ship, which we parked a few blocks down from the crime scene. Alex, who usually has a comment to say for everything, looks very dire as we get closer to the crime scene. I have to say I feel the same. This was Hamburg, this was our home. The fact it got attacked like this made me hurt deep in my heart. This hurt wasn't helped by the news reporters spotting me, trying to ask me about the situation at hand.

Thankfully, police officers recognize me and usher me away from the press, towards the crime scene; an electrical company building. I know this building all too well; it's where Papa used to work. The fact that this place was attacked makes this whole situation all the more sad.

"It's honor to meet you, Ms. Roberts," the officer says to me, looking very energetic and excited. He reminds me of Scott. "I'm a big fan."

I smile at him. "Call me Soroya. I'm just here to help out if I can."

The officer takes me to the chief, who smiles at me genuinely. He extends his wrinkled hand out towards me. "It's lovely to see you again, Ms. Soroya."

The chief and I had worked together during the blip. I have come to deeply respect the old man. "I wish it were in better circumstances, Chief Alfred. I want to help...Hamburg is my home."

He nods. "Of course, right this way." He says, gesturing towards the entrance to the building.

Even from the outside I can smell the amount of blood. I can tell Alex does too. I stop our pace for a moment, holding a hand out to the chief. I turn back to Alex. "You don't have to go in there if you don't want to—"

"I've seen just as bad," Alex says. "You don't have to protect me."

"I'll always protect you."

"You're not going in alone. Now come on, he's waiting." Alex says, and I can tell he's serious. I nod to him, following the chief through the glass double doors.

The scene I see is enough to make my stomach churn. The entire ground floor is littered with dead bodies, making a once white tiled floor look completely crimson. I find myself covering my nose; the metallic stench of new blood being too much for my heightened senses. There's one woman lying a few feet from me; with her brown hair beginning to stiffen and her pearl necklace splattered with specks of blood.

I want to look away, but I force myself to keep my eyes on all of them. I walk deeper into the room, trying to assess the situation before me. This was definitely a genocide, but if it was by one person or several is unclear.

"Security cameras?" I ask without looking back.

"Destroyed."

"Was the door to the building locked?"

"It was. The people working on the other two floors heard of the attack and tried to escape. Some did through the back door right through there. Others weren't so lucky."

"This person bothered to lock the front and not the back door? Did the people who escaped describe what the person looked like?"

"One of the survivors, a woman named Sally, described a black woman in her mid thirties. The other three men and woman said they didn't get a look at her."

I look over the bodies again. These wounds aren't from bullets or knives; they're bites. I search the bodies of each victim and it's all the same. I look back at Alex, whose heartbeat sounds like beating drums to my advanced hearing. He knows what a mauled person looks like all too well. I can see his hands begin to shake at his sides and he balls them into fists, trying to stay calm.

"These people look like they were killed by an animal not a person."

"They could have done this on purpose. Try to make it look like an animal attack."

I look back at the chief, shaking my head. "No. No I know what an animal attack looks like, trust me. You can't replicate bites and tears like this. You say one of the five people who escaped described a woman being in here? Obviously there was because of the cameras and the front door. But then why didn't she lock the back door? Why didn't she secure the rest of the building? It's like..."

"Like she wanted to get caught." The chief finishes for me.

I nod, trying to wrap my head around this. I feel my powers begin to go haywire again, like they're giving me another warning. I take in a deep breath, trying to see if I can get the scent of the woman at all, but there's way too much blood.

Did this woman have an animal she released on these innocent people? Why did she want to be found out? I have so many questions running through my brain right now and not enough answers.

Maybe...no. No it's impossible. There has to be some explanation for all of the weird things that have been happening. There has to be.

-

Bucky

"You didn't have to stay back with me, you know. I would have been fine." I tell Khari, sitting on the floor with my metal arm resting on my knee.

He nods, polishing his spear with his hoodie. "I know, but Alex and Soroya have this covered. Besides, you're nice company to keep."

I scoff. "You don't have to be so nice all the time."

"I wouldn't say it unless I meant it," he says, tilting his head slightly as he looks at me. "Why do others call you 'Bucky'? That's not your real name is it?"

I shake my head. "'Bucky' is a nickname from my middle name; Buchanan. My real name is James."

Khari smiles. "I like that name. Why don't you go by that?"

I shrug. "Everyone has just always called me 'Bucky'. I can't even remember who started that. You can call me James if you'd like."

Khari nods. "I think I will. Now James, why do you find it so hard to believe that I like spending time with you?"

I shake my head slightly, looking down at the floor. "Part of me thinks you're only doing it for Lena and Alex. I can't see why else you would want to. I'm not at all like you. I'm actually the polar opposite of how you are."

"So is Alex," Khari points out. "He's arrogant, sarcastic, stubborn, brooding, and closed off. He and I have almost nothing in common. And yet, I love him with all my heart. I can promise you that I am not doing this for them. My Mama used to tell me that Hanuman selects certain people in our lives to teach us lessons. These people are meant to follow you through your life and into the ancestral plain. I believe the four of us are connected in this way. We all need one another in more ways than one."

I am still astonished how he and Alex make their relationship work, but then again, Lena and I somehow make it work.

"And you aren't the polar opposite of how I am," Khari adds. "You're a kind hearted, loyal, and selfless man. As is Alex. The two of you are very similar to each other. No wonder you butt heads so often."

"Does anything escape your attention?"

Khari shakes his head with a slight smile. "No. Nothing escapes Soroya either, but you knew that already."

"I did. Did you-did you know she came to visit me while I was in cryo everyday?"

He nods. "Of course. She also slept at your window as a bird during the time you kept her at bay. Even when you have been separated she has made sure you were never truly apart."

I rub my hand over my face, once again finding myself opening up to this man. "I think you were right in Greece; I don't think I deserve how happy Lena makes me feel. I was taught by HYDRA that love and happiness were weaknesses. I was programmed to believe I didn't deserve either of those things. Now that I have a chance at happiness...all I can think about is how unworthy I feel to have it."

I can see the heartbreak in Khari's eyes. He sets his spear down and comes over to sit next to me, laying his hand gently on top of mine. "Those awful people programmed you to believe you were the monster you think you are. You've already taken the first step in healing by talking about it. The next step is to look in the mirror and allow yourself to love who you see. Only then can you feel at peace."

"I don't know who I see."

"Then maybe you should find out."

I let out a deep breath, finding myself squeezing Khari's hand. The door to the ship opens up and Alex waltzes in. Despite the clear pain written in his face, he still manages to say with a sarcastic sigh and shake of his head; "I leave for a few minutes and you're already making moves on another man? I mean I know Bucky is hot, but after all I've given you? How dare you squander our love?"

Khari sits himself up, shaking his head as he walks over and kisses Alex on the cheek. "You're insufferable sometimes, you know that?"

Alex winks. "Part of that dazzling charm you fell for."

I raise my eyebrows at Alex. "Did you just call me 'hot'?"

Alex looks unabashed as he says; "I did, but don't let that compliment go to your head. I'm not into fossils like my sister is."

Lena walks onto the ship then. From her face I can tell that the attack was worse than what they said on the news. She looks rather confused, and as I'm about to ask her what happened, she shakes her head at me. "I think we should stay here in Hamburg today. I-I want to be at home on a day like this."

She doesn't want to talk about it. It's understandable given that she grew up here. Besides Wakanda, this was home to her. I stand up and make my way towards her, wrapping my arms around her shoulders and holding her tightly. "Of course we'll stay here. I'd love to see where you grew up."

A slight smile returns to her face as she nods her head, leaning back from me. "Are you sure you're okay going out in public? I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

I gently touch my dog tags hanging around her neck, smiling lightly. "For you, sweetheart, I'll do anything."