Following the deprogramming of the Winter Soldier brought Elysia an overwhelming feeling of peace, along with a feeling of hope bubbling in the pit of her stomach that they were still on the right track to making things okay. The looming threat from HYDRA couldn't reach her inside the mental bubble she'd formed around the four walls of the room, even if she could only pretend for that moment. For now, all that mattered was the super soldier lying asleep in the bed in front of her.

As soon as she'd finished dismantling the microchip, they'd unhooked Bucky from the wires still reading his scans, and had wheeled him to a much smaller recovery room to sleep off the rest of the sedation. Elysia had gone with him, only taking a quick trip back to her living quarters for a book to pass the time, and had curled up in the chair next to his bed before pulling the bookmark from between its pages and starting to read.

The sound of the door opening pulled Elysia from her book after a few moments, and she looked up to see Steve entering the room, a nervous expression on his face as his gaze found Bucky still lying asleep in the bed, but they moved to one of relief when he saw Elysia sitting next to him. Steve stepped forward as Elysia rose to greet him, and to her surprise, he pulled her into a tight hug, nearly knocking the air from her lungs.

"Thank you," Steve said gratefully, and she hugged him back tightly. "Thank you for saving him."

"Of course," she said, and as he released her from the hug, he pulled up a chair next to her, taking a seat. "It was the least I could do."

"How long's he been out?" he asked, nodding towards Bucky.

"A couple of hours," she said.

"Wow," Steve said. "Strong stuff,"

"Had to combat the serum." she said with a shrug. "We couldn't risk the Winter Soldier coming out if something else was embedded in the code, so they needed something strong enough to keep him down."

Elysia followed suit, sitting back down and setting her book down on the table next to them before grabbing Bucky's hand in hers. Steve's eyes followed her movements, a curious glint in his expression as he began to smile, looking back and forth between the two of them.

"So you two uh..?" he began to ask, searching for the right word. "Fondue?"

"What did you just say to me?" Elysia asked, furrowing her eyebrows together as Steve began to laugh.

"Sorry, force of habit." he chuckled. "Going steady, I mean."

"Wow," Elysia mused, shaking her head. "You are old, Stars and Stripes." she smiled sheepishly, glancing down at Bucky's sleeping form before looking back up at Steve. "But yes."

"I'm glad he has you," Steve said. "He's been through a lot over the years, you know? I know I'll never understand half of what he went through, but I'm glad he has you to be there for him."

"I understand what it's like," she said simply. "To not be in control of yourself. For people to get hurt, even worse, and for it to be your fault."

Steve raised an eyebrow quizzically. "You do?"

"You asked me that night outside what changed for me, back when I decided to leave." she reminded him. "You asked me what made me not want to be Voltage anymore. One night, when I was twenty-one, my boyfriend Jacob and I were walking back to the subway from the movies late, and we wound up in the wrong place at the wrong time with some bad people. When I tried to save him, I lost control and he was standing too close. He died because I couldn't control my abilities."

Steve's expression morphed from curiosity to something Elysia couldn't quite discern as she spoke, and she looked back at Bucky for a moment, breaking her eye contact with Steve. The room fell silent for a moment, but she waited for the super soldier sitting next to her to make the next move.

"You know Bucky only fell from the train because I couldn't protect him?" Steve broke the silence after a moment, causing Elysia to look back up at him, seeing his gaze now trained on Bucky's sleeping form. "I was on my way to get him, but the bar he'd been holding onto snapped, and he fell. The serum kept him alive after the fall, but that's how HYDRA got hold of him. Everything he went through after that, he did because I couldn't save him the way he always saved me when we were kids."

"Everything HYDRA did to him wasn't your fault, Steve." Elysia assured him.

"Neither is you not being able to protect Jacob because of something out of your control." Steve pointed out. "We make mistakes, and people get hurt, but that doesn't mean we stop trying. We save who we can, and we remember the rest."

Elysia nodded finally after a while. "Thanks, Steve."

Steve smiled, putting an encouraging hand on her shoulder. "So what's next for you then?" he asked. "Are you still heading back to Arizona when this all is over?"

"Honestly?" she shrugged. "I hadn't really figured that part out yet. I spent so much time worrying about fitting my powers into my life down there, but lately I've been wondering if my life even fits there. I repressed these powers for years but they're still a part of me, whether I like it or not."

"We could use you, you know." Steve assured her. "You're good for the team." he nodded his head back in Bucky's direction. "You're good for him."

"What about you?" she asked. "Are you going to find James when this is all over?"

"He's in an underground facility in London." Steve explained with a slight nod. "They moved him there once Peggy retired from S.H.I.E.L.D. The second Tony gives us the green light that this is all over, the Quinjet's on its way to go get him."

"Are you nervous?" she asked, and he let loose a deep breath, nodding.

"More than I've ever been in my life," he admitted. "Not when I was going into war, not when I took the serum. Not even when I woke up and learned that seventy years had passed. Peggy told me he's a great kid, and I can't wait to meet him, but..." he trailed off. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared that I won't be the person he was always told that I was."

"He's going to love you, Steve." Elysia assured him. "If the stories Peggy told him are like the ones my history lessons taught about Captain America when I was growing up, then I'm sure he already does."

Steve smiled gratefully, his eyes glazing over with unshed tears for a moment before he blinked them away. He rose from his chair, glancing back at Bucky again before resting a hand back on Elysia's shoulder. "I'll give you guys a minute," he said before leaving the room, leaving her again with Bucky once more.

Elysia looked back at Bucky again, Steve's words beginning to sink in. She'd lost control of herself once, sure, and she'd paid a horrible price for that, but deep down, she also knew Steve was right. All of the time she'd spent running, exiling herself as far away from New York as she could get to punish herself, yet still she'd found her way back home as something deep inside of her had always known she would.

She pulled her hand away from Bucky's as an electric pulse began to thrum in her veins, and she held her hands up in front of her face, studying her palms as the lightning began to flash across the surface. The sparks were much brighter than anything she'd grown accustomed to again, nearly blinding and white-hot against her skin, although she watched them pensively, and instead of the fear that threatened to creep at the very edges of her mind, she instead felt safety, bliss.

She felt control.

Elysia smiled softly to herself, reaching within herself as she summoned brighter sparks, squinting her eyes as the blinding lights in front of her, but instead she continued to push them, seeing how far she could go. The lightning danced across her palms as her pink hair began to stand on end from the static amassing in the air, but as she continued to draw the electricity into herself, she never got the feeling that it was slipping away from her.

She jumped slightly as the lights blacked out in the room as the power to the compound short circuited, and the lightning disappeared from her hands as the emergency generator bulbs illuminated the room in a faint red glow. She laughed in surprise at the power surge, though this was short lived as she heard shouts of fear echoing from down the hall.

"Oh shit," she murmured, her eyes widening at the realization that she'd shorted out the entire compound, and likely any nearby upstate facilities.

Elysia bolted from her chair, running from Bucky's room to the stairwell that would take her down to the communal living quarters for the rest of the team, following the source of the shouts. She could pick Tony's voice out from the group as one of the loudest, along with the rest of the team as she barrelled through the door, coming face to face with a team ready for battle.

"Sparky!" Tony called as she entered the room, his right hand already armed with part of one of his many Iron Man suits, the circle of light glowing bright in the darkened room. "Eyes up. We think HYDRA might've infiltrated the compound."

"What?" she asked in surprise.

"They killed the power," he continued. "Does somebody have eyes on Tin Man?"

"On my way," Steve said, moving towards the door to the stairwell, but Elysia held up a hand to stop him.

"Guys, it's not HYDRA." Elysia said, trying to contain her laughter as the rest of them looked back at her quizzically.

"What happened?" Clint asked, furrowing his eyebrows together.

"It was me," she admitted, holding a hand up as she once again allowed the sparks to flow, filling the room with a soft white light. "I was practicing, and I made a breakthrough, and..." she trailed off, waving a hand around the room towards the dull red lights glowing against the walls. "Sorry,"

"You're saying your powers did this?" Sam asked, and Elysia nodded.

"She's right," Vision's voice entered the mix as the android appeared through the connecting wall next to Elysia. "The perimeter of the compound is empty, nor have Wanda's wards been breached. Everything's perfectly safe, Stark."

"So what I'm hearing is that Voltage is back," Tony said, a proud smile taking over his features as he walked over to his former mentee, patting her on the back. "Good to have you back, kid."

"Good to be back," she said, a nervous smile beginning to form at the corners of her mouth.

"Now, could you do us all a favor and put the lights back, Sparky?" Tony asked, and her eyes widened as she stepped back, nodding intently.

"Oh shoot, sorry," she said, holding up her hands and summoning the energy back, before pushing it out towards the walls surrounding them.

As the power flowed from her hands, the lights of the compound slowly came back to life, as well as the sounds of the electronics powering up in the kitchen. Suddenly, they were no longer standing in darkness, but instead everyone watched the young woman in awe before the lights in her hands faded once more, and the static faded as her hair fell back in its normal waves.

"See?" Sam said, nudging Steve as he pointed back to Elysia. "I told you her powers must've been awesome."

Elysia smiled sheepishly, a pink tinge beginning to coat her cheeks as she jerked her head back in the direction of the stairwell. "I'm going to go head back up to Bucky," she announced, backing up towards the door. "Thanks, guys,"

"I'll join you," Steve offered, and she held the door for him as he followed her back up the stairs to the recovery room.

Elysia walked into the room with Steve expecting to see Bucky still asleep, although, to her surprise, he watched them with tired eyes, and a confused look on his face. Although, the confusion mixed with relief at the sight of them, taking in his best friend and girlfriend now standing in the doorway.

"Hi," Elysia breathed, moving back to her seat and taking his hand again. "Good morning,"

"What's going on?" Bucky asked, his eyebrows furrowing together. "I heard screaming. Is everyone okay?"

Elysia couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up from her chest at his question, and she leaned forward, kissing him gently before pulling away. "Yeah," she assured him. "We're okay. We're all okay."