𝓘 𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓵𝓮𝓭 𝓪𝔀𝓪𝓴𝓮. It was too dark for me to see anything, but I knew I'd heard something. Carefully I sat up, squinting to check the room. But Bucky's bedroom was empty, besides us. Wanda was still in the Facility, maybe she was moving around, restless for Vision to get back. Then I remembered something...right as I'd fallen asleep.

Finally.

What did it mean? I was certain that the thought hadn't come from Wanda or Bucky's minds. Was it just a wave of dreams hitting me? The questions ran through my head. Next to me, Bucky slept, undisturbed by my state of panic. The Avengers hadn't gotten back yet, which meant technically the whole building was inviting danger. I suddenly longed for Wanda to be on our floor. If anything happened to Wanda I would feel entirely responsible. Even with the chaotic magic she wielded that could do incredible damage to the wrong person, she was just a kid. Steve understood that, Tony did too, despite his weird way of showing it.

While I sat, thinking, I listened, but all was quiet. It was nighttime and anybody on the grounds was either sleeping or guarding.

Or in the Avengers case, fighting, I thought.

Reluctantly I laid back down and leaned my head against Bucky's chest, which was still warm. His vibranium hand was knotted into a fist and I saw his face move oddly. In Bucky's dreams, he was fighting. Every Avenger had fallen, all except Steve, so Bucky was fighting for both of them. I could see how horribly the dream would end. Just before it got worse, I touched Bucky's hand and implemented good memories and happy thoughts. Slowly Bucky's fist came undone and I laced my fingers with his.

The girl. Interesting. But we'll save her for later.

My eyes shot open again. There was no questioning that thought. It was so clear. Suddenly the mind was revealed. It was the Unknown Mind, the one who'd been at the Facility once and had probably followed me to the barn. Thorin! Did he know about-I slapped my face. Thorin's fine, breath, breath, it's Bucky he wants. One of my hands was still in Bucky's. I shook Bucky's hand while begging him to wake up Telepathically. The dark ball of malice that was the Unknown Person grew closer and closer. He wasn't using the elevator...he was using the emergency stairs nobody even cared to use.

Which meant he was avoiding FRIDAY's systems.

"Quin..." Bucky whispered.

"Bucky," I whispered back. "It's the mind, the Imposter, it's here. He's...he's coming for you. I think. But he mentioned a girl-"

"Quin, slow down."

"Ok. Ok. He's coming and he's not looking for a fight, but if we don't give him one then he's going to take you and then either me or Wanda, I'm not sure yet, and walk right out of here." I explained.

Bucky nodded and with my hand still linked with his and ripped off the covers and got out of bed. He pulled me along to the bathroom and then opened the door. From one of the shelves he grabbed my knife and handed it to me.

"Hide," He said, holding my hand.

"But-"

"Quin, the last thing I need..." Bucky stepped closer, so we were only an inch away, his eyes drilled through the dark into mine. "I can't let you get hurt."

"Which is why I trained! So I could fight with you."

"Please Quin," Bucky said, placing a hand on my face.

I nodded, swallowing all of my pride and fighting fire and storing it in case the Unknown Mind did come for me. Bucky and I flinched as we heard soft footsteps echoing from the stairs. Neither of us moved. Poisonous thoughts overwhelmed my mind. I tried to anchor myself to Bucky's thoughts through the madness of the Unknown Person's. Bucky let his hand fall off my face. I stepped forward and hugged Bucky, not wanting him to go. Just like Bucky, I didn't want him to get hurt.

"Don't die." I whispered.

Bucky laughed under his breath. "I won't."

And then he walked slowly out of the room, into danger's grasp. Desperately I honed into the Imposter's mind, reading what he saw by accessing his subconscious thoughts. There were at least three tiers of thinking: verbal processing, emotions, and observations/facts. Obviously what you saw was through your eyes but all of your body was linked to the brain, and if you dug deep enough you could read a person's impression of their surroundings. The Imposter was over halfway to our floor, he was counting the steps, unaware of Bucky waiting for him. But the confidence the Imposter felt wasn't foolish. He almost seemed...invincible. As if he knew we couldn't beat him and therefore didn't care about wasting his time counting stairs.

Finally, he saw the door. Then, he paused and didn't move. I held my breath and prayed for Bucky.

Over 500 stairs, not nearly as tall as the Avenger's Tower, the Imposter thought.

He opened the door without a sound. My heart started to race.

Bucky don't die, please don't die. I switched to Bucky's mind and nearly collapsed in exhaustion from being so entrenched in the Imposters mind. Bucky heard the door, not only that, he could barely see the shape of his attacker. Eagerly I listened to every observation Bucky made. He was smart enough to stand in front of the largest window so that he could actually see his opponent.

The Imposter was wearing a strangely shaped mask colored black and grey to hide in the shadows. It resembled Bucky's muzzle and goggles, but these were darker, scarier than anything else. A shiver went down my spine as I imagined what Bucky saw based on his description. For the first time the Imposter spoke words.

"Hello Soldier." He said. "Enjoying your free time?"

"What the hell do you want?" Bucky asked sharply.

"Hydra misses you."

Fear pierced Bucky's confidence. "To Hell with Hydra."

"I'm glad we know how you feel then." The Imposter seethed. "You were supposed to be sleeping, but I guess you're still on edge. Having nightmares, I assume."

I gasped, how did he know this? Was he bluffing? Maybe he had nightmares of his own. Hastily I searched the Imposter's mind for horrifying memories that could twist a dream and turn it sour.

The Imposter's mind was full of them.

"Ever stop talking?" Bucky snapped.

"When I want." The Imposter lunged at Bucky who sidestepped and reached out to grab him.

Right as Bucky caught the enemy he tossed the gun from his right hand to the left and took a swing with it at Bucky's face. But Bucky was quick too and he dodged it. They lost their grip on one another and stepped away. I read Bucky's plan of attack-but so did the Imposter. It was like he could read minds too. Every thought Bucky had about fighting was easily guessed by the Imposter. There was no way a normal person could do that. Then again, Hydra gave powers freely to test subjects so they could use them. Was it possible that this guy had mind reading? Just like me?

Does he know I'm here?

Even though the Imposter had a gun, the safety lock was still on. If he shot, he knew Wanda might hear and come to help.

She could end him easily.

I couldn't take it, I had to help Bucky.

Another attack from the Imposter sent Bucky flying backward. He rose to his feet and spat out some blood. The mask seemed to smirk, or at least Bucky thought so. Bucky charged and raised his fist to punch his opponent's face but the Imposter avoided the blow narrowly and sent the blunt end of his gun into Bucky's stomach. Suddenly a knife was whipped out.

BUCKY! I screamed telepathically, DO THE ROLL THINGY!

I ran to the door and watched as Bucky locked his legs around the Imposter and threw him to the ground. The knife scattered across the floor far out of reach for both of them. Bucky bit his lip and slammed his metal fist into the mask but it bounced right off and sent them both soaring in opposite directions. Bucky flew into the wall and made a dent in it. The other guys scraped the ground and bumped into the couch. This wasn't going to end soon. With a Vibranium mask, this enemy could counter Bucky's one way of knocking him out.

"Leave him alone." I growled, dashing out of the bedroom with my knife in hand.

"QUIN!" Bucky yelled, struggling to his feet.

Just as the Imposter got up I blocked his punch and knocked the gun from its socket. He recoiled in surprise. I continued to fight, not wanting him to have any chance to attack first. Using the trick Natasha taught me I jumped and threw a kick at his face, he rolled to the side and tried to trip me but I saw the three moves he had planned and did a back roll before he could use them. THen, I flipped the knife and sliced at his neck, it left a small cut in his armor.

"How are you countering me?" He asked, as I caught his punch with my forearm.

"How are you talking in the middle of this?" I replied, stabbing at his chest.

The blade snapped in the impact.

"I'm the Taskmaster, multi tasking is my thing." He joked.

Out of nowhere Bucky barrelled into the Imposter-or now, Taskmaster, and they both fell onto the couch, punching and grabbing. Taskmaster's fist cracked across Bucky's face and he rolled off the couch, the emotions in his head breaking into despair and pain. I faced Taskmaster, terrified, but infuriated.

He hurt Bucky. He broke into the Facility. Now he was making jokes as if this fight didn't mean anything.

Jerk.

I jumped into the air and wrapped my legs around Taskmaster's neck, throwing him at the window with my momentum. He slid from my grasp and hurtled towards the glass, hitting it with a loud noise and shattering the window. Glass sprayed across the room. I felt Bucky's arms close in on me as he swung himself in front of me to block the shards.

None of the glass stabbed Bucky, they fell around us.

"Are you ok?" I croaked.

"I'm glad you are." Bucky whispered.

Shaking we helped one another up, ready to finish the fight. But Taskmaster was gone. A breathless sob escaped my lips. My shoulders started to shake. Bucky turned me around and held me, resting his head on top of mine.

"It's ok, he's gone, he's gone." Bucky said.

"I know," I replied.

Bucky massaged my back with his hands and slowly the sudden shock of the fight went away. I clung to the soft blue shirt Bucky wore. Taskmaster's name was ringing in my ears, there was something...something almost familiar about it. As if I'd known the name all along. But the harder I tried to find a memory the more I wanted to cry. It was a horrible feeling. But Bucky's body against mine and the feeling of his metal fingers running through my hair held the tears at bay. I wiped away any wetness on my face. Through the cracks of my fingers I looked at Bucky. His lip curved in a weak smile. I grimaced and sighed, trying not to think about how I could have died. Bucky looked through the broken window. The Iron Man suit blasters could be heard in the distance. I recognized the sounds of vehicles on a road.

The Avengers were returning to a whole new mess.

"You're crazy," Bucky said. "You know that?"

I nodded and we both started to laugh nervously in the dark.