
Chapter Five- Coming Back
Emily took a deep breath, stopping at the door to the interrogation room. Behind the door, a teenage girl waited, and she could very well give them information that could help them take down Hydra once and for all. Bucky nodded to her, unlocking the door, and she stepped in. She looked over at Joelle, who still sat in the chair, but Emily saw the hope in her eyes as she came in.
"Are you ready?" Emily asked softly, and Joelle nodded, her hands clearly shaking. She knelt down beside the girl, gently placing her fingertips on her temples. Her eyes closed, and she gasped slightly, Emily taking a deep breath, a tear trickling down her cheek.
"Oh, Joelle....I'm so sorry." She whispered, and Joelle jerked away, glaring at Emily.
"You're not. You just want to get the information about Hydra out of me. You don't care what they did. You don't want to help me." She hissed, and Emily stepped back slightly.
"Joelle, I'm trying to help you remember your family as well, and I can't do that without going past what they did." She backed away, shaking her head.
"No. You can find them without reminding me of that. I don't want to see that again. Just find what you need, and let me remember my family." She shook her head slowly, looking at the terrified girl.
"I'm sorry, Joelle. I can't do that." Joelle backed up against the wall, her eyes wide, panicking, and nearly shaking all over, her breathing growing more rapid.
"No. I can't do that. I won't do that." Emily looked over at the window, where she knew Bucky, Steve, and Katherine were watching.
"Get Bruce and something for her." She said, and Joelle completely freaked out, curling up into a ball, sobbing and nearly screaming.
"No! No, please! Don't let them touch me! Don't, please!" She cried, and within moments, the door opened, Steve and Bruce coming in.
"No!" She shrieked, lashing out. Emily moved away, realizing what was happening. She had tried to get Joelle to remember too much, and too fast. Within moments, Steve and Bruce were both unconscious, and Joelle was gone. Emily ran out, trying to find where Joelle had gone, but she ran into Bucky.
"It's not her fault, Buck. She had a flashback. She thinks she's still in Hydra. I shouldn't have done it that way." He gently cupped her face in his hands, kissing her forehead.
"It's okay, doll. We'll find her, and we know what to do now." He turned, and she gently grabbed his wrist.
"Wait.....I....I just barely managed to reach her first experience with Hydra. She probably remembers pieces of it, but I didn't see it." He nodded, and headed down the hall. He passed Bruce's lab, and heard an alarm go off.
"Mr. Barnes, I think you'll want to see this." Jarvis said, and he went in, freezing.
"The DNA test.....That's.....Those are the results? Are you sure it's accurate?" He asked, breathless.
"Yes, Mr. Barnes. I ran the test multiple times, and it's a perfect match." He dashed out, and finally froze, turning in circles when he reached a hallway with two corridors and an elevator. She could be anywhere by now. Then, he had a bad feeling that someone was behind him...... Watching him. Bucky turned around, and froze when he saw Joelle standing there, a gun in her hands.... And the gun was pointed straight at him. He felt his heart nearly break, and his legs started to give out. He stared at the barrel of the gun as he fell to his knees.
"You don't have to do this." He said softly. Tears stung her eyes, but she forced herself to blink them back. She breathed deeply, raising the rifle and aiming it at his skull.
"I wish that were true." He saw her struggling not to cry, and he took a deep breath, looking her right in the eyes.
"We did that DNA test, and just got the results back. I know why you couldn't kill Coulson because you thought you recognized me when you saw me. I know why you hesitated to shoot, and why you were willing to talk to me when we discovered you were here. I know why it took so long for you to try and carry out your mission. I know why you couldn't actually kill any of us. I know why you're not just shooting me right now, Joelle. And I know why you don't think that's your name." He slowly stood, and she raised the gun with shaking hands, trying to follow him.
"You do know me. Deep down inside, even though you don't have your memories, you remember me. In your heart, you remember me, and it hurts. It's aching because you know me, but your mind is telling you that you don't. You know I'm not someone who would ever dare to hurt you. You know who I am, Noelle." At that, her hands dropped, the gun clattering to the floor. He knelt down in front of her, gently taking her hands, and she could very clearly see the tears in his eyes, which he was fighting to hold back.
"Noelle, the day Hydra took you, you were at the park. Your dad was pushing you on the swings, and your uncle was beside him, pushing your cousins. Your mom and aunt were nearby with your other cousins, and your mom was pregnant with your baby brother. You fell, because they shot the swing, and after your dad caught you, he was shot as well." She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting the tears as the memory snuck back.
"Daddy!! Daddy, you're bleeding!! What happened?!" She opened her eyes, looking at him, pain filling them.
"I was wondering why he was bleeding...... Cut off one head, and two more shall grow back." He nodded, and said that man's last words at the same time she did.
"Hail Hydra." She watched him, confused, and he gently cupped her face in his hands. She gently placed her metal hand on his flesh one, and he managed a small smile.
"Noelle............ Do you remember me?" He asked softly, and she gasped, her family's faces finally coming back to her, and she dropped to her knees, tears pouring down her cheeks as she realized exactly where she now was.
"Daddy.......... I'm sorry......I didn't know......" He wrapped his arms around her, gently pulling her closer to himself.
"I missed you, Ellie." He whispered, and she buried her face in his shoulder, nearly sobbing. He held her close, looking up, and letting the tears stream down his cheeks. He saw Steve and Emily come around a corner, and they stopped when they saw what was happening. He gently nudged Noelle, who turned to see what he was talking about and gasped when she saw them.
"Mom......" She whispered, in shock, but it was enough for Emily to fly over, wrapping her daughter in a hug, and sobbing with the girl. Noelle looked back up from the hug, looking over at Steve, and smiled slightly.
"How old-fashioned are you now?" She mouthed to him, and he chuckled, coming over, and wrapping his sister, brother-in-law, and niece all in a hug. They finally moved back, and she slid her shirt sleeve up, using the trigger she had been taught to remove the metal arm.
"I need you all to keep this away from me until these words are out of my head. I don't trust myself. And it won't work while it's not connected to me. It needs the nerve connection. Trust me, I've tried to use it without it being attached." Steve gingerly took the arm, nodding slightly.
"I'll give it to Bruce or Katherine, and see what they can do with it. Tony would just take the thing apart." She nodded, leaning back into her dad's arms, and Steve smiled. They finally had her back, and now they knew......They wouldn't ever let her go again.
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