Chapter 34

A/N

Be honest though, what did you think of Book 1?

Oh and read the A/N at the end.

Marvel quote;

"I am Thor, son of Odin, and as long as there is life in my breast... I am running out of things to say, are you ready?"  

The mighty Thor in a choke hold by Ultron. XD

~~@ @ @~~

One, single, action.

A decision really.

And I was gone.

I packed up my stuff, got rid of anything that could track me, and disappeared.

Boarding the first flight to god knows where seemed like a good idea. I did that and never looked back.

Of course, I made sure all traces of me was gone too. There was no point going into hiding if the others could find me and I wasn't called the Dark Witch if I couldn't simply disappear.

It would've been an insult to my legacy.

Maybe it was a bad decision on my part.

To leave my family when they were most vulnerable. To not support them like I used to.

People do different things to cope with their problems. I suppose mine was running away.

But was I really running away or was I simply doing this so I won't hurt them when I'm gone?

Maybe that's why I'm distancing myself.

I couldn't be sure. My mind was too loud to think about it right now.

All I know was that I had to get away.

"Miss, the plane has landed." A flight attendant gestured at me, giving me a kind smile.

Blank, I tucked in my sunglasses and blink rapidly to clear my vision. "Where am I?"

She frowns, unsure what I meant. "Bucharest, Miss."

The flight attendant was probably confused since I was the one that had boarded the plane, surely I would know where my destination was.

Well too bad for her, I didn't pay attention and when I said I was taking a flight to god knows where-- it seems that meant here.

How very quaint.

"Thank you," I got off the plane and made my way through the airport, making sure my head was low even as I got in a cab and booked a motel.

As the sister of Tony Stark and an Alias known as the Dark Witch, I was a celebrity wherever I went.

People would swarm if I wasn't careful. Any other day, I would've welcomed the fans.

But for now, I just needed to be alone.

Alone to... gather my thoughts.

Alone to... die...

Once the others sign the Accords, the ones who didn't would be seen as fugitives to the law.

Well, I'm not signing, neither am I agreeing. I was on my own side here with no one to back me up.

The law will come after me soon.

Just a matter of time.

The way I looked at it I can't choose between Tony and Steve. The decision in itself was horrible. God knows where that would take me.

Those two needed to figure things out and leave me out of it. I will no longer be used in their game of tug and war. It never ends well for the person standing in the middle.

From what I heard before I left; Tony, Rhodey and Vision were signing the Accords. Natasha as well.

Steve and Sam refused. Wanda remained silent. Like me.

She doesn't want to choose, but she doesn't want to leave the Facility either.

Where could she go? She had nowhere to go to and I know I shouldn't leave her at a time like this but I had to.

For my sake and for the sake of others.

If I don't, both Tony and Steve are going to take advantage of my weakness and use it against me for their own gains.

They don't even know they're doing it.

Truth is, they've been doing it for so long, I only just realized.

I know it's selfish that I'm leaving my brother to handle the Avengers.

I know it's selfish to leave Steve when the woman he loved just passed away.

But I don't know where I stand at the moment.

With my brother or the man I love?

I've always known past grudges would eventually catch up to us.

Steve and I relationship's had been on the fence since Ultron. Tony's decision to make Vision, and mine for defending my brother, truly hurt the Super Soldier.

We've forgotten about it, choosing to sweep it under the rug rather than face it this whole time, but now it was unavoidable.

It was going to happen either way.

I just never thought it be like this.

"Damn," I threw my suitcase on the floor once I entered the motel room, and face planted on the bed, my entire body vibrating with exhaustion.

I didn't even bother to turn on the lights. They remained off.

Useless waste of energy if you asked me.

Why should I bother?

Every day my body weakens. Every day, it's like waiting for the last of the light to go off.

I'm just waiting to die.

Flashing lights from above the ceiling made me squint. The refraction was coming from the monitor beside me.

It was beeping endlessly.

Picking it up, I frowned at the numerous messages and missed calls. The team were trying desperately to reach me.

Everything had simply been sent to voicemail.

It was a weird feeling.

Being so far away from my teammates meant I no longer felt their emotions. Their, thoughts or feelings.

It was both a curse and a blessing.

A curse, because I can't feel if they are okay. A blessing, because I no longer had to worry.

All I could focus on now-- was the steady trickling of pain in each second, the voices of another couple in the other room and a field of random people's energy downstairs, going on about their day, without a care in the world.

Peace.

At least a version of it, if you don't count the burning pain coursing through my body at the moment.

Turning on my side, I wrestle for my suitcase and opened it up, revealing a small hidden case that was hastily shoved beneath all my clothes.

I flipped the lock open, revealing two purple tubes.

These were the only things that could slow the effects of the veins.

Should I even try or should I simply let nature takes its course? I mean I was only stalling after all, why don't I just let it happen quicker?

No.

That would mean dying a cowardly death.

The urge to give up is tempting, but I won't. There is still work to do. My family will be facing one of the hardest battles yet and I had a feeling they were going to need me soon.

So I had to be ready.

If anything, the decision to run away in the first place had been useless. I was going to go back to them in the end anyway.

Just not right now.

I shakily picked one of the tubes and loaded it in the injector.

The veins were going to kill me if I stalled any longer, at least doing this will slow them down. For how long I do not know.

The last one lasted 3 months.

I'm afraid this wouldn't last half of that.

"Fuck needles," I bitterly spoke, jabbing my thigh, and injecting the serum inside. The icy feeling made me shiver. I have to bite my lip to hold back a cry of pain.

Eventually, when the purple liquid is gone, I took out the injector and cleaned it off before throwing it back in the case.

There I remained, face-up on the bed.

I could feel it working its way through my veins, temporary numbing the tell-tale burns and decreasing the level of how much they glowed.

The veins were growing their way up my neck, but I could feel them stop at the base of my throat, near the collar of my shirt.

I made sure to clench my fists first before manifesting the lights forward. It took a moment for them to pop out.

They moved slowly at first.

Unsure almost, afraid to even appear.

But I force them to come out, pushing energy into it. They swirled alive around the room, wrapping the foundation with glittering blue and green.

There was no gold.

The gold had long disappeared with the black.

I only had two of my signature colours left.

After a beat when the black didn't appear, I know the serum must be working so I waved my abilities away and once more and bathe in silence.

Sweet, sweet, silence.

Holding a palm above me, I hold it there, head filled with thoughts.

What was I doing here?

Why Bucharest, of all of the places?

I could go to Japan.

Or maybe even Korea.

But why here?

What was waiting for me here?

Dropping my hand, I criss-cross my arms over my eyes and blocked my gaze only to silently listen to the steady thumping of my heart, feeling the very sound within my body that reminded me I was still alive.

Gradually, the world started getting blurry.

Black veins crawled up my vision and I fell asleep, too tired to resist.

;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;

Black void.

I'm not in the place where stars littered the skies. I'm not in the other reality either.

No.

I'm somewhere else.

Was this a dream?

No, if this was a dream, I wouldn't be aware of what's happening.

I was mirror projecting.

The sound of my footsteps echoed along with the blackness of the void.

Walking slowly, I peered everywhere, trying my best to figure out where I stand in my mirror projection.

What was I doing here?

They've never done this before, what were they trying to tell me?

Stopping in front of nothing, I feel the cool air against my skin as though I'm standing in front of a fan.

The black void was peeling away right before my eyes, a mixture of bland colours taking its place.

I frowned, realization dawning.

I was standing in the middle of an unfamiliar hallway. A light is lit at the very edge of the hall, right before a lone door.

The flickering candescent drew me in.

Nevermind that I had no idea what I was doing here, it didn't matter.

I walk towards the light, my feet moving before my brain can formulate a proper response.

Any ordinary person would be afraid, but not me, after all, they are worse things to be afraid of, much, much, worse things.

I stop before the ragedy door, chipped in some places from years of usage.

Slowly, I lift my hand. I don't know what I was aiming for, I don't know what I was doing here, but at this moment, at this second, I am where I'm meant to be.

Just before I touch the doorknob, the scene before me morphed, shadows and colours alike coming alive.

The world grew smaller. The walls closed in.

It feels as though my entire body is shrinking.

Startled, I take a step back.

But it didn't stop.

The air sucked me tighter and tighter to the point that my lungs ached and my heart trembled. I buckle to my knees, hands above my head, gasping.

Flashes.

Blue.

Yellow.

Red.

Purple.

Green.

Orange.

I opened my eyes, wrenching myself out of the trance with incredible effort.

The first thing I notice, is that I'm on the ground, in the exact position I'd fallen in my mirror projection. The second thing is the fact that the wooden flooring feels cool beneath my fingertips.

What?

Raising my head, I shakily rose to my feet, eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

I was in the same apartment hallway from my mirror projection. Everything was the same, right down to the floors, to the walls and to the chipped door.

What, in the actual hell.

How did I get here? How was this possible?

I've only ever been able to mirror project my astral form, but never my physical body.

Did my powers...

They weren't strong enough to even fight so why would they waste their energy to transport me here?

I didn't have to come up with my own conclusion. My powers did that for me.

Slowly, I turn my head towards the door, body shaking.

Just beyond this door, just beyond these walls-- I feel it. The familiar current and energy that's been engrained into me, that's now being flooded into me like a geiser.

It couldn't be.

Happiness, gratitude, fear, uncertainty, these are all emotions surging into the forefront of my mind. Even if I try to process them now, I'd find it impossible.

I take a step forward and raised a hand, lightly knocking onto the hard wood.

My heart thumped loudly in my ears. I waited in anticipation, I waited for the disappointment that this might not be real, and I was just dreaming.

There was a heavy shuffle behind the door, sounds of someone getting up and scrambling to put things aside.

Just before the door opens, a voice calls out, friendly.

"Nu, nu mai am nevoie de zahăr."

No, I don't need any more sugar.

Romanian. A language I understand.

Fortunately, it was a language, he understands too.

The door swings open, a waft of warm air flooded out of the apartment, and I see him.

My protector.

His smiling face drops in an instant, eyes going wide.

Years.

It's been years.

The last time I saw him was at the museum. He had been lost then, lost but determined, but the man before me now, looked a little worse for wear.

His black hair still hung across his shoulders, goatee unshaven. His face is tired, eyebags visible beneath the skin. I feel his emotions, his aura, it's so familiar. So familiar that I start to shake.

It looks like he's had a hell of a time staying under the radar.

And yet, nobody says a word.

We remain starting at each other. Too afraid to move.

He grips the doorway tightly, fists clenched. I see his eyes as they blink rapidly. He is fighting with himself.

Fighting to understand if this was real, or all just in his head.

"Privet, Soldat..."

Hello, Soldier...

A cracked smile cross my lips and my entire body trembled from the whirling of emotions hitting me at once.

I couldn't find him. No matter how hard I tried, no matter what I did, he had been out of reach for years.

But here he was now. In the flesh. As though he hadn't disappeared at all.

"I will always be there."

The words seemed to echo between us, sparking old promises and old thoughts.

We hadn't been there for each other, had we? We hadn't kept our vow.

Memories of our time in HYDRA, the conversations we share, the decisions we made... how could we have forgotten all of that?

I don't even realize he'd relaxed his arms to his sides, I don't even realize I've stepped forward, crossing the threshold of the door.

Only when he shuts the door behind me--closing the two of us off from the world, that I finally realize this is real, this isn't a dream.

"Temnaya Ved'ma?"

Dark Witch.

His voice is muffled, uncertain.

Fear filtered in the air between us. Fear of the unknown.

A dam is about to break.

I remain standing still, my back to him, my hands clenching into fists.

It was ironic how the one person in my subconscious that I trusted would be the one my abilities take me to. When I really needed him the most, it was by my own being that brought me here.

Maybe it was part of my forgotten training, or maybe it was something deep down inside me that knows my Protector would always be there.

I turn around, unsure what else to do.

He's staring at me, dark eyes searching, scanning at my expression with concern and worry. I don't have to do anything else.

He saw more than I needed to explain.

"What's wrong?" Bucky crosses the distance between us in an instant.

I recognize that protectiveness, those old habits of his as they come to the surface.

He raises his hands, hesitating once, before damning it all and placing them on my shoulders.

He knows something isn't right.

He knows.

And yet, I refuse to look at him in the eye.

"Lorelie," He urges, speaking softly. "Tell me."

He moves his hands so they cup my cheeks and I obeyed his touch, rising slightly to meet his dark eyes.

Those fingers wipe under my eyes and I realize I'm crying.

"I just need to know..." The fear was taking control. "I just need to know, Soldat--"

"What is it? What do you want to know?" His dark eyes glowed, showing a level of fear for my well-being that exceeds anything else anyone has ever done for me.

"I know it wasn't you, you couldn't have stopped yourself if they ask you to hurt him."

I held onto Bucky's hands--the hands that remain cupped on my face, in utter desperation as the words appear in my mind, striking fear.

"You could have hurt anyone, Blues."

"You just don't remember."

"Did I hurt you...?" It was getting difficult to breathe as fire bubbled up in my throat. "Did I just stand there, and did nothing...?"

I try to ignore it, I try convince myself that it's not true, it can't be, but I can't. I can't help but doubt.

"I am so sorry. I'm so sorry, I didn't stop them. I'm so sorry, Soldat. Please forgive me--"

"Stoy."

Stop.

His tone is so sharp, I halt mid-sentence.

I feel his emotions as they rise and lower. A heady mixture of anger and frustration.

Bucky lowers himself down, his gaze deep and profound. "You don't remember."

It's a statement. Not a question.

I nod my head.

"You've never hurt me," His fingers tightened over my cheeks. A sigh escapes his lips. "How could you?"

Something in my heart, stuttered.

"You made a choice that day. Run or stay,"

From the very crevices of my mind, a memory that has been blurry this whole time is starting to clear up.

I remembered the way the guards strapped him down to the chair.

I remembered the way Pierce put a gun to his head.

I remembered making the decision.

"You chose to stay," Bucky nods.

I look up at him, eyes wide.

I chose to stay.

To protect him.

Relief, gratitude, bitterness, fear, terror, absolution, all these emotions, all these thoughts, they swarm my brain, they attack my system in ways I can't count.

Steve, Tony, the Avengers, Lagos, the fact that I'm dying, the happiness that I finally found my Protector--it's too much, it's too difficult to hold.

And suddenly I'm crying, I'm sobbing, I'm absolutely losing it.

"I'm..." The words died in my throat as peace broke the surface of my skin, bringing ice-cold relief to my burning heart.

He's changed a lot over the past two years. Yet, he was still familiar. He was still home.

I shut my eyes and surrendered to his warmth, feeling my body shut down altogether as he pulls me in.

"I'm losing everything, Soldat."

He leans closer so we're inches apart and his eyes remained where they are, worried and concerned.

"What have you lost?"

I pressed myself against him and rested my head on his shoulder.

His hands wrap around me and I felt a strange sense of Deja Vu, at the moment we shared.

I felt whole. Maybe broken. Maybe shattered. But whole.

He strokes my hair as tears continue to leak out of my eyes.

"Myself..."

~~@ @ @~~

A/N

Have you missed Bucky? Because I surely did. And I'm sure I wasn't the only one that 'kinda' shipped them in Book 1.

Bucky is going to play a major role in this storyline though.

With Lorelie's complicated relationship with both Steve and Tony, what else could go wrong in throwing in the Winter Soldier too?

Oh boy.

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