12

They were back on the jet immediately after their discovery. The three of them sitting in estranged silence, waiting for Tony to call them back. 

"They have to still be at the cabin, right?" Torrance asked, shifting in her seat uneasily. "I mean, we've been gone, what? Like two hours?"

"No one is answering their phones, they could already be at Stark Tower," Nat responded, holding her phone out and groaning, "And we have no reception up here."

Bucky turned to them, asking, "If Hydra already has the serum, why are they still planning to go after us?" 

"I still know how to recreate the serum," Torrance said back, holding her own phone out and praying she got a signal. "Even if we don't have the serum, I still know everything there is about it. They want to kill me before I tell anyone about it."

"Can't you just tell us, I mean, the new Avengers facility probably has what it takes to recreate what you know-"

She cut off Nat, shaking her head, "It's not safe there, I trust you guys, I really do, but it's not safe. It will never be safe, and besides, do you really want more of us-" she motioned between herself and Bucky. "-running around the streets? Hell, the original serum is nothing like what Steve got. It's dangerous, more potent and severe, and the doctors who created it were intending to use it as mind control. The serum helps them wipe us, at least it did with me. Sure, it's all evolved over the years, perfecting it, but the one Ana stole and hid?" She shook her head, finally resting her back against her seat as she sighed, "The original was not to be messed with, and I really, really, really mean that."

Nat put her phone down and looked up, "Then how do we get it back?"

"Hydra's going to attack Stark Tower," Bucky sighed and Torrance could hear the metal in his arm moving, grinding against each other. "We just have to get there before they do and that way we can at least try and get the serum back and destroy it."

"They'll know we're coming," Nat said. "Hell, if they knew we were coming here, they probably knew we were hiding out at the cabin-" She stopped herself and the look in her eyes gave Torrance a sudden rush of worry as she sat up in her seat. 

"You don't think-"

"No-"

Nat was already moving towards the cockpit as Torrance held her phone higher to get a steady signal. She frantically dialed Steve, getting no answer, then Fury but only getting the same.

All straight to voicemail.

"We can't even get to Tony, not even Wanda," she breathed, feeling her breath hitch in her throat. "What if they got Steve? What if the cabin was the target all along-"

Bucky grabbed her arms, moving closer to her. His voice brought a ringing to her eyes as he said over the rush, "It's okay, they're going to be, we're all safe-"

"We're safe," he whispered to her. 

The dust had just begun to settle and they could finally see the damage. They didn't know there would be so many civilians still in the city and when the building fell, and oh God, did it fall, there wasn't a single survivor. 

"We didn't know," he said, his voice clear and steady. Bucky was always so gentle with her, so warm and kind. "We couldn't have stopped it, we tried to get out as many as we could."

Her breathing was finally slowing and she focused on his eyes that were searching hers. His hands were on her arms, holding her steady against him and the trucks. It was supposed to be an easy mission, get in and get out, but they were ambushed. It had all been a trap.

"There were so many still trapped inside-"

He shushed her, pulling her against him. His chest was firm and he smelled of sweat and soot. "We couldn't have known what was going to happen, we did the best we could-"

"There were so many children," she murmured against his neck, her hands gripping the back of his jacket. It was late winter where they were, the air was still and dead from the cold. It felt like spring would never come. "I couldn't even reach them-"

"If we hadn't of gotten out when we did, we would be dead," he said before pulling back to take her face into his hands. His face was dirty and his lip was split from the impact of a hilt of a gun. "We wouldn't of stood a chance against the explosions if we had stayed, you know that. The war can't be won with us dead inside-"

"But-"

He shook his head and she could see the pain in his eyes, he was just as pained as she. How frantic they both had been to escape behind Steve, how the impact of the explosions sent them rocketing forward. He had scrapes across his palms and elbows, his pants torn at the knees from hitting the ground. And although she looked just as bad, she would heal and he would not and that was always something that hit her the most. 

They could both be stabbed, shot, torn apart and only one would live. How was she supposed to live without him? How was she supposed to feel sending him off into the battlefield knowing she could never heal him from his injuries? 

"You could've died," she finally whispered and he wiped the tears from her cheeks because he knew, he understood what she was thinking about, what she feared most.

"I'm not going anywhere."

"-we're all safe, Tor, they'll be okay," Bucky whispered to her and she blinked out of the memory as she nodded. "The cabin is probably untouched, we just jumped to conclusions too quickly."

"But-" And she saw the look in his eyes like a flooding memory and she stopped herself from speaking. She saw the old him for a moment, the short hair, clean face, the bright eyes. He was still that man, aged and worn, but still the same man and she couldn't help the pull he had on her, even after all of these decades. 

"You might've spoken too soon," Nat's voice suddenly rang out and the pair stood and followed the sound of her voice and into the cockpit. The jet was lowering itself to the ground outside the cabin and Torrance's leg felt weak as she leaned against Bucky.

"Oh god," she breathed, reaching a hand out to steady herself as she spiraled. "The cabin...it's burnt to the fucking ground."

The cabin was still smoldering when they rushed out of the jet. The grass was black from the fire that still smoked from inside the rubble. The cars that had been parked peacefully in front of the home were smoldering, flipped to their sides from the impact of the explosion.

She stumbled towards the cabin, it was so burnt she feared she'd never be able to tell if there were bodies inside or not. There was still a small fire going towards the middle of the destruction, potentially being the center of what caused all of this. There were remains of the cabin beyond the burning point, pieces of bricks and roof scattered all around them, as if the top had been blown off the kettle. 

The world around her was burning.

The buildings were crumpled, smoking spiraling into the sky in dark circles. Blood stained the streets and she felt helpless.

The war was taking its toll on them, the killing was weighing on their shoulders. 

When the building fell, the world went silent, she didn't hear any screaming or crying. It was like the building fell and the world stopped. She didn't even have a chance to yell when the bomb went off inside and Bucky was suddenly pulling her down the hall and towards the doors before they were swept down and lost. 

The cabin was unrecognizable but Torrance could still see the parts of the home that made it so cozy and warm. The couches and chairs that had been blown to smithereens but she could still find the bits and pieces of worn leather amongst the debris.

"I don't see any bodies," Nat said as she passed through the broken doorway of the home, one of the last things standing besides a broken staircase. "They could've gotten out."

"It's still dark here, they could've hid in the woods maybe," Torrance added, eyes already searching the tree line. 

Bucky stepped past her, looking through the ruins as he said, "I don't even see Steve's bike here, they could've gotten out."

Torrance wished she could sense them, that she could feel Steve in her head but she no longer had his memories or powers, their hour of use long gone. She followed Nat through the broken doorway, kicking bricks and pieces of burning wood out of the way with her boots. She clicked her heels and when her board didn't come out, yet she still rose off the ground, she silently thanked Tony for her new tools.

"I'll see if I can spot anything from above," she told her friends, rising off of the ground as her jet powered boots kicked into full gear. She could see how high the smoke blew as she rose against it before looking around the area. 

The wreckage was spread out amongst Tony's acres of land. She searched the cabin, looking for anything that could tell them where the hell their friends went when she noticed a small reflection underneath a fallen wall. It flickered slightly and she smiled.

"You can't go back in there," Bucky pleaded, grabbing her arm tightly. "The building's unstable, there's still more that can come down-"

"But the people!" she pulled back against his grip. "We can't leave them-"

"Hydra is coming, we can't stay, we have to go-"

"We can't!"

She hit the side of her head, shaking herself from the same memory plaguing her from the ride home. She couldn't be getting lost in them, she needed to be able to focus, stay alert. 

She lowered herself to the ground, stalking towards the area she saw the little reflection in the sky. Nat was already following her and asking, "Did you see something?"

She nodded, picking up chunks of wood and tossing it aside. "There's something under here."

Bucky came to her side and the three of them began to pick up pieces of the ruins, throwing them off to their sides. The soot was dark against their faces and hands, almost forgetting the place had almost burned to the ground. 

Nat laughed when they found it, picking up the helmet for them to see. "Thank God Stark has hundreds of these." She pressed a button and a message was suddenly being replayed to them.

"So glad you three found this!" Tony's voice rang out. "At least, I really hope it's you guys. We're headed to Stark Tower so if you come back and we're not here, don't worry. We're fine. When you find this, can you bring it back to me? Kind of one of my favorite prototypes, so be gentle with her."

His voice faded out and a collective sigh fell from their mouths. Where they had found the helmet, Torrance noticed the burnt remains of her friend's phones and she pointed to them and said, "This explains why we haven't gotten any calls."

"We can take the jet to New York, shouldn't be long-" Nat started but Torrance held up her hand, shaking her head as she interrupted, "It might be safer to just find a car and drive up, sure it'll take more time but better a car than to be shot out of the sky, don't you think?"

Nat sighed, rubbing her temple as she held the helmet under one arm. "No way we can find a fast enough ride out here."

"Too risky to go into town," Bucky added.

Torrance bit back her frown that pulled at her lips. She didn't want to get into the jet again, something in her gut told her to stay back because she knew they'd fly into someone worse in New York, especially with Hydra now having all the secrets she tried her best to hide.

They had everything and she feared they would only use it to create more evil. The serum shouldn't have ever been made to hurt, it was supposed to save, to protect.

"Then we use the jet," she finally said, giving it a worried glance. "Let's just pray it really is a quick trip."

So, when she sat down for the ride, she didn't fully anticipate for it all to happen so quickly. She expected it to be later, maybe when they'd finally reached New York, their landing strip just a mile away. Yet, the jet was slammed and rocketed through with something powerful enough to cause an explosion near the front. 

Minutes after takeoff, and oh, how it all crumbled and burned.

There was a ringing in her ears and she barely remembered how she was flung back against her seat before lurching forward, her seatbelt breaking free from the wall. They were spinning out of control and she felt nauseous. She remembered her head hitting on the floor, watching blood splatter, and seeing Nat screaming in her seat before the impact. 

The final impact with the ground tore them apart and she had felt a cool metal hand try to grip her arm as the metal ship broke and shattered like glass. The ringing that had started turned into a roar when the windows broke, wind whipping in from either sides, cursing them for being in the sky. She remembered trying to claw at the ground, feeling her body move across the ground and she tried to reach her friends, to reach a seat, reach anything, but she could barely see through the blood that rolled into her eyes. But, she could smell the flames and when she wiped at her eyes, she could see them. Big and bright and hot, the fire started at the cockpit and half the jet was lost somewhere behind her, her head was pounding and she knew she was bleeding but she didn't know from where.

When she had finally and truly come to, she was sprawled across the singed rubble, Nat's body hanging limply in her seat. Torrance watched the younger woman move, giving her the slightest indication that she was still alive. 

Torrance rolled onto her side, body aching and she could see black spots in her eyes. Her shoulder was out of place, some of her fingers bent at disgusting angles. She knew her nose was bleeding before she could even touch it, the slight scrunch of her face made her head explode with hardened agony. 

She gripped her arm, keeping it against the ground and her body before popping her shoulder back into place. She let out a heavy stream of air, hoping to god she didn't cry out. She worked her fingers next, hearing the crack and pop as she bent them back to their original angles. 

The black dots returned to her eyesight and she faltered.

Don't just sit there, get up and do something, Ana's voice spoke up in her head, urgent. We can't stay here, we need to leave, run-

"Can't leave them behind," Torrance grunted out through clenched teeth. 

It's not safe, get your friends moving. We don't want to know who comes around, don't want Hydra to find us, don't want them to take us.

Ana's voice was jumbled and worried and distant, and Torrance feared she'd pass out and that's exactly what she did.

Head hitting the ground once more and taking her into the blackness behind her eyes and into her mind. 

Steve gripped her hand, the two sitting in silence.

Another day, another moment, to mourn their losses.

"What are we going to do once this is all over?" she whispered, glancing up at her friend. "We don't have homes to go back too-"

"It won't ever end," he answered back. "Wars like this? They always come back."

It was short and sweet and left her with a pounding skull and drying blood caked in her hair and across her face. When she finally sat up, slightly conscious and urging her body to wake up more, she took in her surroundings.

There was a thin veil of smoke lingering in the broken jet and she could smell the fire that probably still burned brightly in the front and somewhere behind her. She look see the flames licking up the metal and the jet fuel leaking out across the grass behind her. 

They would be consumed by the flames and the forest before they had the chance to run.

She was thankful for when she turned, she saw Bucky. Hanging by one arm, unconscious, in his seat. His seatbelt caught in the metal of his arm, keeping him upright and at least slightly safe. She tried to stand but she felt the brokenness in her leg the second she kneeled on it, her knee cap had too of been shattered. But she didn't have time to cry and clutch her broken body, because she didn't know whether or not anyone was coming, specifically Hydra.

She knew it was them, coming to finish them off and her mind was ringing with the truth. So she crawled towards Nat, gripping her legs before shaking at her arms and the other woman finally stirred. Her broken fingers screaming back up at her for pushing them to their limits as she held onto Nat.

There was a thin line of blood streaming out her nose when she blinked and finally saw Torrance's face. "Wha-?"

"Nat, you got to listen to me," Torrance hissed out, keeping her voice low and trying to hide the waver and wobble the pain brought to her words. "Stark Tower was never the target, they wanted us separated like this."

Her eyes were on her, but she couldn't tell if she was even listening.

Repeating herself as she shook the other woman, Torrance snapped out a little louder, "Stark Tower was never the target, Nat. They wanted us separated, they wanted us far enough away to strike, this was their plan all along."

"Uh huh," she moaned out, trying to sit up in her seat. When she did finally sit all the way up, she was grimacing, rubbing the back of her head. "How-" she swallowed thickly, "-how do you know for sure?"

"It's what I would've done."

"Are they coming for us?"

Torrance looked past the gaping hole where the bottom half of the jet once was and she didn't know for sure. "Who's to say this isn't what they planned from the beginning? I mean," she shook her head, the pounding slowly beginning to fade. "They probably followed us to the cemetery, they probably already knew where everything was before I could even-"

She froze, a sunken feeling coming down upon her shoulders, steady and pressing hard. She moved from Nat, who sunk back into her seat in exhaustion. 

"Ana?" she whispered out, finding her bottom lip to already be quivering. "Please tell me I'm wrong."

The voice inside her head laughed when she was struck in the back of her head. Currents of electricity ran through her and when she fell back, with the laughter still echoing deep inside her mind, she saw the true face of evil. The look of true deceit.

A reflection, so warped and tarnished it was hard to tell where she ended and where Ana began. Hauntingly deceptive.

And it was looking right back at her, welcoming her home.