▌𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐒𝐢𝐱 ━︎━︎ 𝐀 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 ▌

━︎━︎━︎━︎𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐏𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 of her powers had come into play, and if Liliya wasn't terrified before she definitely was now. After a few months of training with Theodora and learning how to control her ability to phase, she'd finally gotten the hang of it enough to use it against opponents or on the occasional mission that she was given. That was another thing, slowly but surely as their trust for her grew, she was given more missions. Liliya had to admit that it felt good doing missions for the people that wanted to make the world a better place. And it was because of those missions that she realized a new development to her abilities had arrived.

She had been in the middle of a fight, using hand to hand combat against the man, she was about to win too when she paused when she saw him begin to look around. She realized he was looking for her, even though she was standing right in front of him. Her brows had furrowed in confusion before she looked down at her hands only to see that they were in fact no longer there. She had gone completely invisible. She had acted quickly, using the distraction to quickly take her opponent down.

     She had reappeared without her permission, kneeling down and putting the man in cuffs. His face was bloody and bruised as he looked at her in utter confusion. "How did you do that?"

     Liliya shrugged. "You know as much as I do." With that, she jerked him up off the ground, shoving him towards the car where he would be taken away. She watched as the agents took him away and she stood there with a huff, placing her hands on her hips as she glanced around the area. "Damn," she sighed before turning and going to her own car. She made her way back to the compound, going to her room and taking a shower.

     After that, she instantly left to find Steve. She found him in a conference room sitting by himself, a couple of files spread out before him. As she entered the room, Steve turned to look at her and offered her a small smile. "Hey, how did the mission go?"

     Liliya nodded, slowly making her way towards him. "It went well."

     Steve furrowed his brows, staring at her. By now, he could read her enough to understand when something was wrong. "What is it?"

     Liliya sighed, taking a seat beside him. "Well, it seems my powers have a new development." Steve frowned. "Apparently, not only can I phase which is still insane to me, but apparently I can also turn invisible."

     Steve raised his brows. "And how exactly did you discover this?"

     "Well, when I was fighting the guy on my mission, he suddenly stopped and looked around trying to find me even though I was standing right in front of him." Liliya sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Was being a deadly assassin not enough for the world?"

     "It seems not." Steve gently reached forwards and grabbed her hand. "But, it'll be okay. You'll learn how to control it just as you learned how to control the phasing. It'll take time, but you got this."

     Liliya nodded. "How are you so calm about all of this? I mean, you always have such a positive reaction whereas I freak out every time. When I found out what both Theo and Eloise could do, I didn't have a physical reaction but on the inside I was completely freaking out. All of us, except Thor and Phoenix, are merely humans with a mutation. I don't know, part of me feels like this type of stuff shouldn't exist."

     "After the attack on New York, I don't think there's anything I wouldn't believe existed. When Thor first arrived claiming to be the god of thunder, I didn't believe him. Until I did. We're surrounded by people with amazing abilities, and it wouldn't be right to condemn them for something they didn't have control over. Whether they were born with it or forced against their will to deal with it, it's not fair to discriminate their powers. People are more than their abilities. You are more than the abilities you've been given. It's the personality and the way they handle themselves that matters."

     Liliya shook her head, a small smile pulling on her face. "I really don't know how we ended up together. We're polar opposites."

     Steve smiled. "Well, they say opposites attract." Liliya let out a laugh at that, Steve releasing his own chuckle.

     She nodded towards the files on the desk. "What's that?"

     Steve looked at the files, a small frown pulling on his face. "My attempt at trying to find Bucky, but it's no use." Instantly, he couldn't help but think of Celeste. "I always wondered if Celeste knew he was alive."

     Unfamiliar with the name, Liliya frowned. "Celeste?"

     "She's an angel."

     Liliya's eyes widened. "An angel? Like an actual angel that lives in heaven?" Steve nodded. Liliya blew out a breath. "Wow, everything truly does exist. But what does that have to do with Bucky?"

     Steve leaned back in his chair, a sigh escaping his lips. "Celeste was one of my friends during the war. She grew closer to my sister, but she was still a good friend of mine. She and Bucky. . . they loved each other so much. Bucky would've done anything for her. She broke the rules to be with him. They were both taken by HYDRA and Bucky stayed so that she could escape."

     Liliya's heart broke. "That's horrible. I can't even imagine how she felt leaving him like that."

     Steve nodded. "I haven't seen her in a long time. But I think leaving him like that broke her. I think a part of her died when she believed that he had died." He shook his head, pain covering his features. "I wish I could just call her and tell her that he was alive. That there's hope for him. That there's hope for them."

     Liliya frowned. "Maybe there is a way." Steve looked at her. "I mean, she's an angel. You could always pray and hope she'll hear you."

     "I've tried." Steve shook his head. "And I have no indication of whether or not she ever heard me. I can only hope she did."

     Liliya nodded before standing. "Come on. We've both had a long day." He collected the files and stood. She gave him a gentle smile. "It'll be alright, my love." She pressed a kiss to his cheek. "We'll figure it out. We always do." Steve managed a small smile before grabbing her hand and letting her lead the way out of the room.