Tony Stark turns on the projector, his eyes glancing at the empty seat at the meeting table. His eyes roll at the person whose seat it was, why he agreed with Steve to let him into the team runs through his mind every day... Once the projector is on, he pushes the button on his remote that makes the screen roll down. "Alright, so somebody that has been running through this town has caught Fury's attention." He clicks the next slide, and a group of men tied up with gashes all over their torsos. "All these men should look familiar to all of you, they have been on the news the past couple days for raping women, the police have been unable to find them. This person however was and has started to become a vigilante. The strange part is, is nobody has seen what they look like or who they even are except for the people they kill. Fury wants us to find this person and convince them to join us."

Steve Rogers, spins in his chair, his eyes wide at the sight of the mangled men. Whomever this was, he was glad they seemed to be on their side. When he hears Tony say that finding this person was their new mission, questions swarm in his mind. How the hell are they supposed to find someone, that no one has seen. Well, no one alive has ever seen. Knowing Tony though, he was sure he already had a plan. His eyes slip over to the empty seat next to him, and a sigh escapes his lips. He was happy his best friend was with him again, but he was starting to make everyone questions his judgement and Steve knew it.

This wouldn't be the first or last time Bucky was late for anything. Not since Hydra hijacked his mind and used him relentlessly. Thankfully, he was free from all that and he hoped it never had to happen again. The torture, the repeating words... the memory loss. It was all too much to go through. Thankfully Steve had always helped get him back on track. He was glad to have the male in his life. The two had been inseparable since they were younger and it had only recently carried on to the recent years with, of course, that hiatus that Bucky had with Hydra. Playing around with his enhanced arm, he looked up towards the clock, jumping to his feet and letting out a groan. "Shit." he mumbled to himself, running his other hand through his freshly cut hair. Steve was going to kill him and Tony was going to kick him out of the team if he kept this going. 


Bucky practically ran through the halls, finding the meeting room and slipping in through the closed door. He looked between the group before clearing his throat. He could see the disapproval from Tony and shrugged his shoulders. "Lost track of time." he spoke, moving in the back to his chair, the only empty chair that was there. He sat himself down and looked over at Steve's equally disapproving look. "Sorry, buddy." he commented, placing his metal hand on the other's shoulder. "Got lost in my mind." he commented. "What's going on?" he asked, looking up towards Tony and the screen that occupied the space behind him. "I've seen them before. Not in this state of course.." he spoke, letting his voice trail off. "Sorry. Continue." he commented, leaning back in the seat so he could listen to Tony's presentation. He figured he could catch up pretty quick if they just carried on.

Anastasia Romanoff continued running through the Hydra base she had recently found by accident, four of them were down and she was not planning on stopping any time soon. She uses her white tank top to wipe off the crimson shining blood off her knives before she slides them back into her holster, wiping her forehead from sweat.  She hears voices up ahead and slows down, she pulls her white hair up into a high ponytail as she sneaks around each corner she passes. She walks up to the wall and presses her back against it, the voices getting closer. She peaks her head around and sees one very heavy man and one very skinny, she rests her hand on one of her knives, getting ready to race around the corner and take them by surprise.  Until…

Boom…  There was an explosion before the ceiling started collapsing around her.

 

After Bucky interrupted Tony’s instructions and settles down, Tony clears his throat and continues. “Nick feels like whomever this person is they would be very very vital on our team, especially with how sneaky they are.” Steve smiles and rolls his eyes playfully at Bucky, before going back to listening to Tony. Still confused as to how they are supposed to catch this person and why Fury wants them since they are obviously a killer, even if it is bad people they are killing. He raises his finger, looking at Tony. “How the hell are we supposed to find and convince this person to join us, if we don’t even know what they look like?”

Tony opens his mouth to answer, when the door bursts open. Nick Fury in all his glory, looks around the filled room. “We have a situation… There was an explosion at a building in Los Angeles, California. There are apparently very high wanted criminals fighting on the streets. We need the Avengers there, it seems to be very big. There seems to be a huge fighting going on, and we don’t know what it is.” Nick explains, his eyebrows furrowed.

Bucky leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest as Tony continued talking. He listened as the man spoke about wanting this vigilante on their team seeing as they were already taking down the bad guys. Bucky let out a long breath as he listened to Tony speak about it. If Nick Fury wants it, Nick Fury will get it. He's persistent that way. Bucky's eyes wandered over to Steve and took in the look on his face. Steve had the exact thoughts running through his face that Bucky had. He was confused but of course would just go along with whatever it was the group of heroes were going to do. 


When Nick burst into the room, his eyes darted over to him, uncrossing his arms and leaning forward a bit at the urgency the man came bursting in with. Bucky stood up, looking over at Steve and shrugged. "Think it's our new recruit?" he asked, following the herd out of the room. He grabbed what he needed and rolled out his shoulders, getting ready to get transported to where this commotion was. 

When they arrived at the site, Bucky took a look around before his breathing shallowed. He knew exactly what this was. A Hydra base. Just great. His mind became flooded rather quickly with the broken memories of his time at a Hydra base. The pain, the killing.. he knew this would affect him. He had to make sure he was on his game or this could all get very messy. "Shit.." he mumbled to himself, looking around the crumbled up building. He had to keep it together right now.

Tony's eyes widen at the urgency of Nick's voice.  He quickly puts the remote down and suits up, keeping his helmet down for now.  
Steve turns his head and looks at Bucky, also shrugging his shoulders. "It could be, but it didn't look like explosions were his style, from the very specific designed knife gashes across each guys chest." He replies, assuming this new person is a man. Grabbing his shield, he follows everybody and waits to be transported to the new area.  
Once they arrive, Steve looks around.  There was pieces of the completely destroyed building everywhere, along with bodies.  Whomever this was, was not playing games.  
Anastasia coughs, her face covered in ash and a couple gashes ran along her forehead and bottom lip. Her shirt had been ripped, exposing a slight gash to her stomach. "Damn it! I was doing so well! Who the hell chose to bomb this building..." She asks herself, as she keeps trying to walk through the rubble to get back outside without being caught by those who are still alive.

Bucky looked over at the others as they looked around. He looked at the bodies, walking up to a couple of them to examine them. His entire body felt warm. Being back to one of these bases was not the most ideal situation but he shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind as he moved around. He held his gun up and any noise would be met with a slight jump from him and a loaded weapon pointed in that direction. He hated the fact he was so jumpy. He wasn't going back to that and there was absolutely no way he'd get nabbed again with this entire base basically torn down. 


Bucky moved slowly, looking through the rubble for any person who might still be alive. At the sound of someone walking, Bucky quickly pointed his gun in the direction of the movement, half expecting to see a male. He narrowed his eyes at the body moving through the debris. "Hey!" he called out. "Stop right there." he demanded, keeping his gun pointed at the girl. Was she what caused this? Was she Hydra? He could hardly tell. He hoped someone would come along and back him up but everyone was so spread out looking around at everything else. Was this the vigilante Nick wanted?

Anastasia freezes at the male's voice, narrowing her eyes barely able to see anything from the fresh smoke and rubble. Her hands immediately grab her most reliable knives, and she pulls them out of her sheath, she continues practically stumbling out of the debris until she is face to face with the man. Used to having a gun and other things pointed at her, she barely flinches as she asks.
"Who the hell are you?? Did you do this??" Staying in a defensive position, she tilts her head slightly. Her heart racing from adrenaline, she tries to ignore the pain from her abdomen. He didn't look like the other men that she had been studying the past couple times she had been here, hiding in the shadows, so she didn't think he was Hydra but she couldn't be too sure.

Bucky kept his complete attention on the female in front of him who also put up a defensive stature and makes her way out of the smoke and falling concrete. He watched her walk up towards him, his gun still pointed directly at her. He wouldn't move an inch. If she was Hydra he had no intention of letting her walk out alive, not after what they did to him. She didn't look like any Hydra agent, though. He was confused and when she asked who he was and if he did all this, his eyes moved from her for a moment, examining the entirety of the wreckage before focusing back on her. In that moment, he knew she wasn't Hydra. Then who was she? 


Bucky held his ground, rocking a bit on his back leg before they moved slightly back from her so she couldn't get the advantage on him. He kept his ears open for anybody else. She might not be working alone. Then the questions began to rise up in his mind. Who was she? What was she doing here if she wasn't Hydra. He had no intention of giving up his name just yet. "What are you doing here if you didn't do this? You're not Hydra... who the hell are you?" he replied back. He had to get something from this girl.

Anastasia rolls her eyes, throwing one of the knives down perfectly getting it on the ground between Bucky's legs.  "Of course I'm not Hydra. You think I would join these assholes!? No, I was here to kill every last one of them for ever touching anyone else including me.  I was here a couple years ago, by choice until things started getting bad then they turned against me. So I came back for revenge.  I wanted to watch every single one of them suffer until their last breath, since the Avengers or whatever the hell they call themselves were obviously doing nothing about this place." 
She pauses, black spots start blurring her vision and she takes a couple deep breaths, before stumbling back. 
She catches herself, before stating. "Then some idiot decided to blow this place up and give these assholes the easy way out..."

Bucky looked down as the knife landed perfectly between his legs before he looked back up at her, moving back again but holding the gun in the same position. As she explained herself, he became oddly more at ease at the sound of her being against Hydra. He slightly lowered his gun but kept it up a bit just in case things went south. 


"You're the one that's been tearing people apart, huh?" he questioned, lowering his weapon a bit more. "Funny you should mention the Avengers." he spoke, letting out a deep sigh that was sitting in his lungs for far too long. "I think the Avengers what everything to do with you." he mentioned, watching as she stumbled back a bit. He took a step forward before remembering he had to keep his distance. 


At the mention of them getting away, he let out a groan. "Dammit." he muttered. He was hoping at least one Hydra base could have been cleared out but if some got away that was never a good sign. "Well that's annoying." he grumbled, putting his enhanced hand to his forehead.

Anastasia sighs and narrows her eyes at him again, keeping the other knife firmly in her hand. "Oh yeah, and what the hell do they want with me? If it's to join them, they can shove that idea right up their ass.  I work alone, always have. That's why I've never been seen, except for now unfortunately..." She looks a bit passed him as she sees a male and female walking up behind him, the male she recognizes immediately as Captain America and the female she could recognize the bold red hair of her older sister anywhere. 
"Shit." She mumbles, as she slides the knife she was holding back into her holster, and walks up toward him, keeping her defense up. She grabs her knife from the ground, and slides that one into her sheath as well. 
"I've got to go, looks like your friends are coming." She says, as she turns to leave but sees who she knows as Iron man walking up behind her, at this point with all the pain and her heart racing she can not handle it anymore and her eyes flutter shut as she passes out and hits the ground. Steve and Natasha come running up. An audible gasp comes from Natasha's mouth before Steve looks at her confused and then over at Bucky. "Who the hell is this?"

Bucky nodded his head, looking around them for a moment. "Yeah, I kind of figured this conversation would go this way." he commented. He knew the girl would have no intention of actually joining the group. He hoped at least Nick Fury or Tony could convince her otherwise. She's been working alone for a while now and why would she give that up to join a group. As the other's approach, he watched her move around, stating that she was about to head out but a quick reaction from Tony coming up behind her stopped her in her tracks. NOW they arrive.. of course. 


Bucky looked down as she collapsed on the ground, lowering his gun completely and let out a deep sigh. "Well that went great." he commented, turning around to face Steve and Natasha. As Steve asked who the girl was, Bucky kept his eyes on the red head as she stared down at the other. "I didn't quite catch her name but it looks like Natasha might know who she is." he spoke, pushing his gun to his back so he had full range of his arms. "The rest of Hydra got away.. but it looks like she did some damage around here with the others. She doesn't seem to keen on joining the band either." Bucky spoke, looking over his shoulder at Tony to get his reaction. "But I'm guessing Nick's not going to let it slide so might as well bring her back to him." the male spoke, leaning down and picking the girl up from the ground with little effort, tossing her over his shoulder like she was weightless. "Wanna let us know who we are dealing with, Nat?" Bucky insisted.

Tony rolled his eyes, as it sounds like he is going to have another stubborn one on his hands.  Fury does not make things easy on him. 
Tears fill Natasha's eyes, as she tries to blink away the past. She knew she was in the wrong, but she never expected to see her little sister again. She didn't have a choice, she was given a chance to escape. She brutally believed that her little sister would not make it out of the red room that tortured them for years.  She clears her throat, wiping away the tears fast. "Everyone, meet my younger sister. Anastasia..." She says, in complete disbelief. 
Steve's eyes widen, as he looks at Natasha. He knew she had a younger sister, by their previous conversations. But, Natasha always had told him that she had died.  That she was not so lucky and did not escape the red room, like Natasha did.  How the hell was she here... How the hell was she alive...? He looks over at Tony and then the motionless girl in Bucky's arms. Wondering what the hell kind of mess Fury just got them involved in.

Bucky looked back at Natasha as she responded. It was not exactly what he expected and the response made his eyes widen a bit. "Oh, your sister? That's going to be messy." he commented, adjusting the girl a bit on his shoulder before walking towards their transportation. What kind of mess was this going to bring. "I guess we should bring her back to the tower. Get her assessed for any wounds and treat her before we lay out the bargaining chips." Bucky shrugged, snaking his arm around the girls legs so she didn't fall off his shoulder. "We will have to somehow convince her to join." he muttered. This whole situation wasn't going to be easy or clean in any sort of sense. She was Nat's sister and probably just as hot headed as the other girl. This was going to be so much more bothersome than he hoped. 


Once they were back at the tower, he picked the girl up again, once more rag dolling her over his shoulder and moving into the tower towards a medical room. Once in, he set the girl down slowly as to not cause her more damage than she probably had. Judging by her current state, he knew the girl was suffering from something bad. At least she could be fixed up here and it would be far easier convincing her while stuck in the tower.

Dr. Bruce Banner turns around in his wheely desk chair when he hears Bucky come in, his eyebrows furrow in confusion at the girl now laying on one of his examination tables. "Hey Buck, who the hell is this? And what the hell happened to her?" His voice not as grumbly as when he is that green giant.  He stands up and walks over to the table and looks at the girl closely.  
Natasha follows Bucky into Bruce's medical room, crossing her arms over her chest and leans against the wall. Her eyes resting on her sister's pale face.  "She is so not going to join us, if I'm here.." She kind of whispers to herself. 
Tony goes back to the meeting room, getting out of his suit and takes off his glasses squeezing the top of his nose with his other hand.  How the hell are they going to convince this girl to join them...? He plops into the chair and stares at the screen that still had the image of the four men Anastasia had stabbed.

Bucky looked at Banner as he stepped towards the girl. He took a step back so Bruce had enough room to walk around and do what he did best. "Well Nick wanted us to recruit whoever was taking down bad guys and that so happens to be her." he spoke, rolling out the shoulder that Anastasia had been on. "Also, that's Nat's sister. Anastasia. So.. this is going to be an interesting time when she wakes up." he spoke. He looked down towards Nat as she stepped up. "She was taking out a Hydra base.. but looks like she got banged up pretty bad. If you can fix her up a bit, we have to somehow convince a lone wolf to join a pack." Bucky spoke, rubbing at his temples a bit. None of this sounded fun.. but its what they had to do. 


His eyes moved back to Nat, staring down at her as she spoke to herself. "We will have to find a way.." he spoke to her. "Let's just see what happens when she wakes up. It'll be kind of hard for her to go anywhere with all of us here. Plus she'll need to heal up. So it's plenty of time for us to try and convince her." he spoke. Nick should be here to talk to the girl and get her on their team.. but if they had to talk to the girl then talk they would.

Banner nods and starts examining Anastasia, his eyes widening at the many scars and bruises that paint her body.  What the hell had this girl been through? If Fury wants her on the team, there must be a good reason.  But, if Banner had to guess with the past that these marks told, it is for sure not going to be easy. He blows out a breath, before setting up his X-ray machine, he takes pictures of the girl's body and once they are ready, he turns out the lights and the machine lights up the photos showing many broken ribs and bones that had healed wrongly due to never being taken care of properly.  "Well, luck must be on our side. Not so much hers, she isn't going anywhere for a couple months at least.  Not with these breaks and fractures." Banner exclaims, rubbing the back of his head. 
Natasha's eyes widen at the pictures, shaking her head at what she can only imagine her sister went through. 
A few moments later, Fury and Steve walk in.  Nick looks at the pictures, sad for the girl but kind of counting this as a blessing for them.  She won't be able to leave here for a while. "Any estimate of when she will wake up Bruce?" He turns his attention to the doctor. 
Bruce shrugs. "That would be up to her, I'm going to put an IV in her now to get her started with fluids but it seems she only passed out due to her body being exhausted for years and the pain she was experiencing.  So it is up to her."

Bucky looked at the pictures of the x-rays as they came up. The fractured ribs and crooked bones. He let out a soft sigh and shook his head before Steve and Nick showed up. He looked back down at the girl and crossed his arms over his chest, watching her in silence. Whatever she went through was tough, no doubt. He figured she'd be a hotheaded one just simply because of what she had gone through. It would be good to have her on their side and in the team as they could use all the help they could get and she seemed to be a strong fighter. 


"Guess it's best to let her sleep it off. If she's been holding on for so long her body is going to need a lot of rest. She probably wont be up for a while." Bucky stated. She was going to be out cold for a few hours at least. "I guess we should let Banner take care of her and do what he needs to do to get her back on her feet." he shrugged, looking towards the others in the room before exiting. The thoughts of being back at the Hydra base and soon left his mind since finding this girl and bringing her back, but he still had it tugging at the back of his head and he hated that he felt the way he did from it but for now his top priority was this girl and getting her better to join the crew.

A couple days pass by, Anastasia had been off and on.  She would wake up, mumble a few words to Bruce that he couldn't understand, but then she would pass out again. 
Today however, her vitals had been stronger than they had been when they had first found her. Bruce was typing away on his computer, when he heard a noise behind them. He turned and found Anastasia staring at him, he asked F.r.i.d.a.y to make the announcement to the team that the girl was finally awake.  
Anastasia looks around at the strange room around her, the smells that filled her nose made her flinch. Was she in a hospital? Her heart started racing again, causing a loud annoying beeping noise to go off next to her. Her eyes rest on Bruce, and she swallows hard. Flinching at the pain that causes. "W-where am I?" She asks, her voice raspy.  
Bruce sighs heavily. "It's okay Miss Romanoff. You are safe, you are at Avengers headquarters." 
Her eyes widen, before she shakes her head. "Don't call me that! Get me out of here!" She starts pulling on the IV, making the machines go even crazier. 
Natasha immediately leaves the training room, running up the stairs as soon as she hears the announcement. She had been by her sister's side the whole time she has been here and wanted to be there when she woke up, she gets to the door, only to be blocked by Steve. "Nat, I think it would be best if Nick and Tony talk to her alone. She is going to be confused and scared enough, without us going in there and crowding her." 
Tony and Nick walk up the stairs at that point, Steve keeps a grip on Nat's wrist and lets them pass. 
They walk in and see Anastasia trying to escape and see Bruce struggling to keep her from pulling on the IV. "We need help!" Tony runs over, trying to grab Anastasia's wrist but ends up getting slapped in the cheek. He has to swallow down his temper, trying to understand she is confused and scared.

Bucky leaned back on the seat he occupied. Waiting for this girl to wake up was excruciating and he wanted nothing more than to get this whole thing over with. Bruce worked hard on her for the last few days, making sure when she woke up she was in the best shape she could be in given the circumstances. He slumped around the tower for days, waiting and waiting. The team often discussed what would happen when she woke up. 


Then, like his thoughts were being brought to life, the announcement going off letting everyone know the girl was finally awake. Bucky pushed himself out of the chair, making his way slowly to the room she was being held in before hearing the commotion that was being caused. He broke out in a run, watching the girl slap Tony in the face trying to escape from them. 


Bucky quickly ran into the room, wrapping both of his arms around the girl and quickly lifting her up off of the ground to try and stop her from running off again. "Hey! Hey. Calm down!" he spoke, trying to calm the wriggling girl down a bit. "We brought you back to the tower after you passed out a few days ago so you could rest and recharge. We aren't going to hurt you here." he spoke, a little strained by the movements the girl was causing, though he wouldn't allow her to go anywhere just yet. Not until she calmed down a bit for the group to talk.

Anastasia struggles in the man's arms.  She remembers him from when they found her, she tries to breathe.  She grabs his wrists, trying to push him off of her, she kicks her leg back hitting his leg with her foot, hoping to get him unbalanced. "Let me go! I don't want to be here! I shouldn't be here! Let go of me!" 
Tony narrows his eyes at this girl, she was tough but there had to be something to calm her down. "Listen Anastasia, if you don't calm down in the next two seconds I'm going to have Bruce sedate you. We just want to talk." 
Nick looks at the girl, him knowing for sure now that she was going to perfect with them, they just have to convince her as such. "Anastasia, I know who you are. You are impressive for a woman your age. You're young and angry, I totally get that. Which is why I know you will be perfect here, please just relax so that we can explain why.  Besides, we have two more of us outside the door and a few others downstairs the percentage of you getting out of here is very low sweetheart." 
Anastasia squirms once more, until she hears the last beat of Fury's speech, and a huge breath escapes her lips as she finally slumps in Bucky's arms defeated. "Fine but Natasha is to come nowhere near me." 
Steve hears Anastasia and looks at Natasha, the door thankfully being shut. 
Natasha leans back against the wall, tears filling her eyes again. "I deserve that."

Bucky holds onto her to the best of his abilities, her legs flailing and kicking him in the shins. He let out a pained groan but kept her tucked in his arms until he felt like she was ready to be released. He made sure she was kept from everyone else so she couldn't kick anyone else and clenched his jaw as she continued to squirm. 


Finally, after Nick talked she slumped down, completely stopping the attack on his shins. He let out a short breath, keeping her suspended for a moment longer before setting her back on her feet and unwrapping his arms from her body. He took a couple of steps away from her just to keep clear in case she began swinging and looked over at Nat as she closed the door behind her. She looked pained, and it didn't feel good to see her like that. Another question for the books. Now that she was calm, it was going to be so much easier to talk to the girl and not have her freaking out again. "What's your beef with Nat? What happened to the two of you that you hate her so much?" It was a question that burned in his mind for a bit now. Since she didn't want Nat to be around her at all, he was curious as to what happened between the two of them all those years ago and what this girls deal was.

Anastasia turns to him, sitting back on the examination table.  A sigh escapes her lips. "She left me.  She got the opportunity to leave the red room, and instead of taking me with her or staying with me she left.  She was the only family I had left, the only family that had been there for me. Then, she got the chance and didn't give me a second thought.  I was nothing to her then, so she is nothing to me now." She looks away from him, the minute she feels the tear slip out of her eye.  
Tony clears his throat, sitting on one of the chairs next to the bed and looks at Nick, before looking at Anastasia.  "Ana, maybe she didn't have a choice. She used to talk about you to Steve and I all the time." 
Nick sighs heavily. "Okay, listen we will talk about the family drama later.  Anastasia, you move quick. You're like a ghost in the night. Nobody has been able to catch you, and you killed the ones that would be able to speak about your identity. You're sneaky and you seem to be on our side." 
Anastasia scoffs, quickly wiping the tears from her eyes. "Your side? You guys have sat here and have done nothing to those people. They have been able to run around and torture people, woman and kids for years!" 
Bruce fixes the IV in Anastasia's arms and checks to make sure her vitals are okay enough for this conversation.

Bucky looked up at her as she began speaking about their past and what Nat had done. No doubt Nat had no choice in the matter. She wouldn't have left her if she knew any better. That wasn't Nat. There was more to the story but Bucky didn't pry. He didn't want to push the subject and have the girl more mad than she was already. 


As Nick began talking and waved off the subject of her sister, he looked over at the man for a moment before looking at the girl, staring her down as she began talking about how they hadn't done anything regarding Hydra. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, looking down at the ground before shaking his head a bit. He didn't even want to bring any of that into the conversation but he knew it wasn't going to go away. They could take more initiative in regarding Hydra but they had a million other things to do on top of it. "We know what they can do.." he muttered. "But there's not enough of us to do everything at once. If you helped us out.. we can ultimately get rid of Hydra all together.. or.. do at least what we can to stop them." he commented. It felt impossible to completely get rid of Hydra but there wasn't anything he'd want more than the demise of a group who tortured and brain washed him and plenty of other people into being killing machines.

Anastasia turns back to look at him, her head tilting a bit as she noticed his stance and how he wasn't looking at her, but down at the ground. She wonders if she may have struck a nerve with him. "You guys have been in the shadows for years, the town has been turning for the worse and Hydra has been doing nothing but getting bigger and gaining more soldiers.  I'm definitely not going to join some group that doesn't seem to care about what's most important. I would rather stay working alone, where I know I can take them down." 
Tony and Nick look at Bucky, then at Anastasia, before looking at each other. Nick starts to wonder if maybe Bucky might be able to convince this girl after all.

Bucky looked at her with a deep sign. "Trust me when I say. Taking Hydra down is an extremely important task for us." He spoke, straightening himself put a bit. "Those bastards will pay for what they did. To me.. to everyone they've controlled and turned into monsters but right now our numbers are low. We've gotten to take a couple of bases down but they seem to grow more than we can attack. They have the advantage on us." He spoke. He had a hard time even going near the bases in fear of them speaking those random strings of words and activating him again. Unfortunately, it was hard for his brain to forget those moments. 


"We are trying.. but we need all the help we can get." He spoke, pushing him off the wall. He was trying any angle he could to get this girl to join them and help them out. He hoped something would click for her and get her on their side. She was stubborn but thankfully so was he. "If you join us, you can help us take down more bases.. hopefully we can get rid of more of them and outweigh them before they make so many soldiers we don't stand a damn chance." Bucky went on, wondering if there was anything he could say that would push her into it.

Anastasia's eyes widen when he mentions himself in there.  "Y-you were one of them? They tortured you too? But how? How did you get free? And if you are here with them, how come Hydra hasn't been your push? How come you have let them worry about other things? Knowing what Hydra is capable of?" 
Tony butts in for a second. "Ana, we get what they are capable of. We have seen it with Bucky.  But, there are other things that had to take priority. It doesn't mean we have forgotten about them or don't think we need to deal with them, it's like Bucky said. We didn't have enough hands or help to go after them yet."

Bucky watched Ana's reaction to what he said. He had a constant reminder of Hydra thanks to his arm and the fact he was still alive considering he was born in 1917. He looked down at the prosthetic arm and let out a long awaited sigh before opening his mouth to answer her questions. Getting out was the hard part. Thankfully he had Steve on his side the whole time. It wasn't long before Tony pushed into the conversation, trying to push it further with the girl. "Hydra is high on our list. We need help." Bucky spoke again, point blank. 


He was hoping this information pushed her a bit into helping them. "We can stop them making more soldiers and torturing people but we need a lot of help. Nick thinks you'll be a perfect fit and I agree with him. You'd be helping us a lot and we can take down Hydra if you help us out." Bucky spoke, pushing off the wall and staring her down. She looked close to breaking and that's exactly where they wanted her. "You'd be a huge asset to our team." He continued.

Looking at the four men surrounding her, focusing mainly on Bucky.  Having someone who has also been through Hydra that close, would be a big help to her because he would understand.  She starts really thinking about how it would be to join them, would it be that bad. Her mind goes to her sister and a sigh escapes her lips.  "I haven't had to rely on anyone but myself for years.  I haven't had to be under any one else's control besides my own.  I wouldn't know how to work as a team.... Why me?" 
Nick smiles gently, thinking exactly like Bucky and that they've got her just where they want her. "Because you have been the one to get the most of those Hydra assholes and obviously have been able to find their bases without getting caught.  You're sneaky and the way you are with those knives, you may even give Bucky a run for his money with his guns. You belong here Ana. Join us, give us a chance.  We don't bite and if you don't like it, then maybe we can talk after about a month. But give us a chance." 
Tony's eyes widen at Fury being so nice and gentle, since that is normally not his style.  He is usually tough and rough, just like himself. He must really want this girl.

Bucky looked between them. She was budging. It was almost like a monumental moment. He didn't think they'd get her on the line but he sure was happy she was slowly accepting it. "You're the best fit for us." Bucky added in. He listened to Nick speak, the tone very different for what he uses for everyone else. He was desperate and Bucky knew that was OK in this moment. They needed her. Bucky gave a small smile as Nick mentioned she could give him a run for his money. Bucky was good with guns and his military experience still resided with him. Even though he was a sergeant back in the military she still could probably give him a run for his money. He would never admit it, though.


Bucky looked at her as Nick finished talking. "What do you say?" He asked adjusting his stance a bit. "Help me get payback for them scrambling my brain?" Bucky asked. One last play. Hopefully she agreed. "A trial run for a month. You don't like it.. we'll let you go on your own again." He spoke very out of line but anything to get her to join at this point.

Anastasia sighs heavily, how the hell did they crack her down so fast? She looks up at Bucky, before a small smile starts painting her own lips.  "Fine, one month. One month to see what it's like to actually have a team, if I don't like it I disappear and you guys don't chase me or try to find me again." 
Nick looks between Bucky and Ana before looking at Tony, chuckling quietly. "Alright, Tony you have one month to train and get this stubborn ass to not go anywhere." 
Tony chuckles at Nick's words, his real self coming back. "I think I can do it, and it's looking like I may have some help." He nods his head toward Bucky, causing Nick to smirk and nod before he walks out of the room.  
Bruce clears his throat, having stayed silent during this whole thing.  "Okay but there will be no training or her getting up again, at least for a couple more days. We still have bones healing."

Bucky let out a sigh of relief as he heard the girl agree to their terms. "One month. If you dont like it, you can leave and we wont bug you." He spoke. He could feel the weight lifting off the entire room as the girl agreed to help the team up. He looked at the others running his fingers through his hair before relaxing into a chill stance. "Perfect." He spoke to himself looking back at Tony as he spoke. "Yeah, I'll help any way I can." Bucky responded to Tony. The air was a lot lighter now that they had an added Avenger. For at least a month. 


Bucky looked at Banner and nodded. "Yeah. First you get better. Let those bones heal and Tony can start training you." Bucky smiled placing his metal hand on Tony's shoulder. He turned and opened the door, seeing Steve still outside. "She's going to stay with us. Try us out for a month." He informed the blonde male. "She doesn't like it in a month, we let her go. This is going to help a lot." He spoke, stepping closer to Steve. "Maybe her and Nat should clear the air.. might help the dynamic a little bit." Bucky shrugged. Any rock in the road could steer this girl away.

A couple days go passed, each day Anastasia's bones healed perfectly.  And with the help of Bruce, the other bones that had healed wrong had also started to heal correctly.  
One early morning, Anastasia's eyes had shot open. She groans and wipes the sweat off her forehead, the reoccurring nightmare she had had for months had finally come back.  Thankfully yesterday, she was free of the IV so she could push herself off of the bed.  She sees Banner passed out at his computer.  
A small giggle escapes her lips, and as she shakes her head she walks out of the medical room.  She refused to talk to Nat when she tried to come in the room and apologize. She knew Natasha truly felt bad, she could see it in her eyes.  She just couldn't let go of the past just yet. She couldn't forgive her yet. 
Anastasia walks downstairs, it being completely pitch black.  She wonders just what exactly the time was, she finally finds the kitchen and flips on the light switch. Her stomach growls, reminding her she hadn't had a decent meal in days.  
Looking at the time, she sees it's only 6:30, so she slides out the phone Tony so gracefully gave to her a couple days ago since hers broke in the explosion. 
Going to her music app, she turns on one of her favorite songs, pulls her hair up in a bun and starts looking for pots and pans, deciding on her first day of actually being able to walk around she might as well cook everyone breakfast. Having loved to cook, since she had escaped the red room. She pulls out eggs and bacon and anything she could find for breakfast, and as she cooks. She starts swaying her hips to the music.

The next few days breezed by. Letting Ana rest and heal up while the group discussed their next moves. It was a slow couple of days but a few chill days really got Bucky into relaxation mode. It was nice not being worried about something for once. They had to plan out their Hydra attacks. Yet every day, Bucky knew they were creating more super soldiers just like him and Steve. 


Bucky laid in bed, his mind racing as it always did. If he wasn't dreaming about the good old days before he and Steve were turned into what they were now, his mind was going to the constant electric shocks he endured, the surgery on his arm mangled arm from falling off the train, the mechanical arm he was fitted with after and the constant torture and killing Bucky had to endure. His body jolted up, feeling the electric shocks flowing through him like he was still enduring it. He opened his eyes and breathed in and out deeply, his heart racing. He hated the sleepless nights and he hated Hydra for what they did to him and knowing what they were doing to others. 


Bucky pushed himself off his bed, pushing the blankets off of him and putting his hands onto his face, the cold metal of his mechanical arm just reminding him what he needed to do. There went his sleep. He stood up reaching for the dark grey tank top and sliding it over his head. Bucky moved from his room and down the stairs, hearing a bit of clanging from pots and pans. He wondered who was in the kitchen. He walked to the kitchen, surprisingly seeing Ana in the kitchen. He stood there for a moment, watching as she danced around while she cooked, a small smile appearing on his lips before he cleared his throat a bit, crossing his arms over his chest.

Anastasia had gotten a rhythm down, not exactly knowing what everybody on the team liked. She made a mixture of everything, from French toast to pancakes to scrambled eggs to fried eggs. She also had all the breakfast meats going. Her hips kept swaying to the beat of the music, before she heard a throat clear behind her. 
She jumped, almost dropping the spatula, before she turned and her eyes widen at Bucky. 
Reaching over to pause the music coming from her phone, she could feel her cheeks turning a slight red. "G-good morning.  I'm sorry, did I wake you? I thought I was being quiet enough?"

Bucky chuckled a little as she jumped and turned, seeing her face melt into a crimson color as she noticed him behind her. "Sorry to scare you." He spoke, stepping up to the island that separated the two. "No. I have a hard time sleeping these days. Must be my old age." He joked a bit. The man wad 106 years old at this point. Thank god he didn't look or act like it. He sat himself down in a stool at the other end of the island and leaned his head in his mechanical hand. "What are you making?" He asked curiously before leaning up a bit to see. She was making a whole selection of foods. 


"That's nice of you to cook for everyone." He mentioned, settling down into a relaxed state. "You couldn't sleep either?" He asked curiously, adjusting himself a bit in his seat. He leaned himself back a bit, tapping his fingers on the table top of the counter as he watched her intently.

Anastasia watches him, a slight giggle slips her lips as she hears him joke about old age. There is no way he was all that much older than she was.  "How old are you exactly?" She asks, as she starts flipping the French toast.  Then she motions around to all the food. "I wasn't sure what everyone liked so I figured I would make whatever I could find. I figured it was the least I could do for all of you taking me in.   And no, to answer your question a nightmare that I haven't been able to shake woke me up and I couldn't go back to sleep, so I figured I would get up.  I didn't want to wake up Bruce, he was passed out at his computer." 
She scrambles the eggs in the other pan, before really looking at him.  
Realizing for as long as she has known him, she hasn't really taken him all in.  She almost gets lost in his eyes, before she drops her eyes down and her eyes widen this being the first time she has realized that his one arm is not like the other. "Okay, now I know there was something wrong with me before.  Have you always had the robot arm?"

Bucky gave her a slight smile at her question. "I was born in 1917." He spoke to her. He wondered if she'd believe him. "Me and my best friend, Steve.. or captain America as everyone knows him were enhanced... him more so by choice." He spoke, watching her as she watched him. When  she mentioned the food, he smiled again. He gave off a light laugh, nodding his head. "That's probably the best way to ensure everyone finds something they like. I'm sure they'll love it." He commented. When she mentioned her nightmare he nodded. He understood that all too well. "I get it." He commented before letting out a soft sigh. 


Bucky looked up at her as she mentioned his arm. He looked over at it and nodded. "I fell off a cliff from a train. Barely made it. My arm was a mangled mess and I was hanging on by a thread. Hydra grabbed me... gave me a serum.. surgically took my arm and fitted me a brand new one to go with my enhanced body." He spoke, lifting his mechanical arm and flexed the fingers on it as he let it linger in front of his face to show her. "The Winter Soldier is what they branded me." He spoke, looking up at her to catch her facial expressions.

Anastasia's eyes widen as he mentions the year he was born, and starts laughing slightly, before he continues about what exactly Hydra did to him and her smile turns into a frown.  "Y-you were the Winter Soldier? You were a very popular topic, while I was there.  I remember them mentioning all you did, I remember hearing about you on all the news channels. How the hell did the Avengers capture you? How did they get you free? I had to escape on my own and I barely made it out alive, hence the broken bones that didn't heal properly before." 
She watches his arm in amazement, before she stops herself she reaches out and gently runs her fingers along it.  "Wow... They are definitely assholes, but this is kind of cool. I'm sorry." She realizes she had touched him without warning or anything and quickly pulls her hand back, going back to finishing up breakfast, turning away from him, the red deepening her cheeks once again.

Bucky looked up at her as she asked how he got free. "I got some help from a friend." He spoke, his tone soft. He watched as she moved her fingers along his arm, watching her intently before she pulled back and turned away from him. 


Bucky leaned back again, lowering his arm back onto the table. "Yeah I guess that's one good thing that came out it." Bucky smirked. He looked up towards her as she cooked. "How did you find that base?"

"I had killed a couple men from a previous base that I had found and they had had some information on them about multiple different bases and the reason why I had this one on lock down was because this where they had kept the main storage of the serum.  I was trying to kill them and ruin the serum, so it would at least slow down the process a little. But, then some asshole blew the whole thing up and a lot of them escaped again and I don't know how much of the serum they were able to take with them... I wasn't lying when I said they are getting bigger Bucky. They're getting bigger and gaining more and more soldiers as each day goes on." 
She sighs heavily, before she starts taking everything off of the stove and setting it down on the island, before she finally blinks up into his eyes again. 
"We've got to stop them, before they get out of hand. He forced himself on me by the way, every day...  That's why I want to end them so bad. I was his toy." She watches him, hoping he realizes the he she is talking about, wondering if she should be frightened that she feels this comfortable around him to be able to admit this stuff since she has never admitted it to anyone else.

Bucky listens to her speak about the bases and how she found them. When she mentioned them growing, he nodded and closed his eyes. Hydra could NOT overpower them. They had to take them down before they got the chance to grow anymore but it was hard to accomplish. Hydra just kept building and building and they seemed to get better and better at it. Honestly, it was a bit frightening. 


Bucky looked up towards her again as she mentioned what he had been doing to her. His jaw involuntarily clenched and his mechanical hand closed into a tight fist. His face grew stone cold as she said that before letting his eyes close for a second to calm himself down. No one should have to go through that type of torture and hearing that drove his anger further. "We'll get all of them." he spoke, his tone dark. If it was the last thing he ever did he'd get rid of all those men who did these things to people.

Anastasia nods, hearing the darkness and anger in his tone and she finally starts to realize that his determination to ruin Hydra is just as deep as hers.  She smiles slightly and goes to say something else, when a loud yawn is heard from behind them.  
Sam Wilson and Steve, walk into the kitchen looking at both Bucky and Anastasia.  Steve's eyebrows furrow in confusion at the sight of Anastasia outside of the medical room and the big breakfast that is now laid out on the island. "Good morning you two, you guys are up early?" Steve says kind of curiously.  As Sam walks up and grabs a piece of bacon off the counter, playfully bumping Bucky's arm. 
Anastasia smiles politely. "Good morning Steve." She looks at the other man, that was standing next to Bucky now and realizes she still hasn't met everybody here.  She turns and starts making coffee, and pouring orange juice for those that want it. Before she tells F.R.I.D.A.Y to make an announcement for everybody else that breakfast is ready.

Bucky watched Ana's face intently before jumping slightly at the sound of the loud yawn emerging from behind them. He turned his head with a frustrated sigh as Sam and Steve join them in the kitchen. He looked over at Steve before shrugging his shoulders slightly. "Can't sleep." He muttered to him, leaning back in his chair again. 


He felt Sam bump into him and looked up at him, debating snatching the bacon from his hand but shook the thought from his head. It was too early to start any play fighting in the kitchen. "Sam this is Anastasia. She's been after the Hydra bases. She's going to help us take down more before they make more super soldiers." He explained, leaving the who Natasha's sister out of it. He was sure in their current state of relationship she didn't want to be known just as Nat's sister. "She's been through Hydra's torture too so she's committed to taking them down." He spoke, standing up from the chair now and looked around the room at everyone.

Anastasia turns at the mention of her name and looks at Bucky, appreciating the fact that he didn't mention her being Nat's sister,  before smiling politely at Sam.  "It's nice to meet you." She walks over and reaches her hand out. Sam chuckles and stuffs the bacon in his mouth, before wiping his hand on his shirt and shaking her hand. "It's nice to meet you too, so you're the one Tony gave the brief description about. I do have to admit the way you are with those knives, is a little terrifying." 
Anastasia giggles and shakes her head, before turning and starting to look for plates.  "Years of self training, but thank you." 
Natasha walks into the kitchen, stretching.  She sees Anastasia behind the island and the big breakfast and a slight smile paints her face, as she remembers when they were younger before all the trauma happened that Anastasia had a pretend kitchen and would always pretend she was a chef. "Good morning everybody, this is a nice surprise." 
Tony and Nick walk in after Nat and Tony's eyes widen at the breakfast. "Wow, it's been a long time since we have had this big of a breakfast." Tony states, a smile spreading on his lips.

Bucky looked around as more of them started showing up. He walked over to Anastasia and opened one of the cupboards to find the plates, grabbing them out for her and a few forks from in the lower drawers. He set them on the island so people could start dishing up their breakfast. It had been a while since he had anything cooked by someone else and he was oddly happy in this moment. It felt odd having everything so calm and everyone in such a good mood, but he appreciated it in the moment. 


Bucky stood straight after placing everything down and crossed his arms, taking in the scene of the moment. A bunch of rugged fighters and soilders gathering around a massive breakfast like some odd little family. It was interesting to see. "Good job on breakfast. I haven't seen them all this happy in a while." He spoke to Ana, nudging her lightly with his arm.

Anastasia slightly freezes at the sound Nat's voice, before she starts to think maybe she is being a little hardheaded with her sister. She smiles when Bucky comes to help her, she watches him place everything down before he comes back over to her and she feels her cheeks turn slightly pink when he nudges her and compliments the small gesture she did.  "Thank you, cooking helps my nerves and I had to get out of my head.  I'm glad I was able to make everyone else happy while doing it. Thank you for the help and the company." She looks up at him, realizing now just exactly how much taller than her he is. 
Bruce walks into the kitchen, after everyone else had made their plate and grabbed their drink of choice and he starts making himself a plate. "This smells delicious." He raises his head and looks at Ana. "Good morning Ana, just so you are aware I went back and looked at your X-rays we took last night and it looks like you are good as new. So you are ready for training." He smiles, as he joins everyone else at the table. 
Tony's ears perk up at the fact she can now train and smiles. "You better eat Ana and get your strength up, we don't go easy on anybody here." 
Sam's eyes haven't left his best friend, watching his interactions with this girl and a slight smirk is glued to his lips as he eats.

Bucky watched everyone walk around and grab something to eat and drink and sit around the large table. He wanted to wait until everyone else got something before he started gathering himself a few items. As she comments on his company, he smiled and nodded his head. "It's nice to get some stuff of your chest." he shrugged. Everyone knew about his situation and even though he didn't like talking about it or reliving it, it was quite nice to talk about it and say everything out loud. He did feel a bit of a weight lifting off him as he had gotten to speak about it. 


Once Bruce came in and announced Ana was ready for her training, he looked over at Tony who was far too excited about the situation and sat himself down at the table to join all the others. It was definitely an experience to sit around a table eating like this, not having a care in the world for a few moments. Bucky looked around, locking eyes with his friend before tilting his head. "Don't look at me like that." he spoke softly, shaking his head at the sight of the smile on his lips before looking back down at his food. It sure as hell was good.. better than eating out all the time. A home cooked meal just wasn't in the cards much for the Avengers.

Ana nods in agreement with Bucky, about getting some stuff off her chest.  Before she hears Bruce come down and announce that she was in the clear, her smile broadens.  "Thank you so much for everything Bruce." She watches as Bucky grabs a plate, before sitting down with everyone else. 
She realizes the only spot left for her, is in between Steve and Nat.  
Sighing quietly, she grabs herself a plate before walking over and sits down next to them.  Realizing her and Nat are two of the only girls here, due to Wanda being out on a mission and she hasn't met her yet, and the fact that Nat is still her sister, she rolls her eyes at herself and nudges Nat. "After breakfast, I would like to chat?" 
Nat's eyes widen not only when Ana sits next to her but when she speaks with her, she can hardly help nodding her head too excitedly. "Of course." 
Nick had finished eating a little bit ago, and had walked out of the dining room and back into his office.  When he comes barging in again. "Sorry guys, breakfast is going to be cut short. We have another explosion, this one is in Manhattan, New York. We aren't sure if this is another Hydra base, but gear up everybody. We don't know what this is yet, but there is someone targeting these buildings. We don't know if it has to do with Hydra as well or just random targets."
Tony's eyes look over at Anastasia, before standing up. "Ana, you'll stay here.  You aren't ready for a mission yet. Nat, why don't you stay too?" 
Anastasia looks at Tony, biting her bottom lip hard, it being really hard to follow instructions of someone else when she hasn't done it for years. She reluctantly nods and looks over at Bucky, quietly hoping he will be okay again.

Bucky looked between Nat and Ana and smiled slightly to himself, continuing to eat what he took. It was peaceful for a moment before Nick came barging in, the action itself bringing dread to Bucky as he knew what was about to happen. The happy moment was always cut short. He dropped his fork and leaned back, letting out a sigh before standing up. Another explosion, hopefully another Hydra base to get rid of. He looked over at Ana as Tony told her to stay behind, knowing the girl was most likely fighting every bit of her mind to actually stay behind. "Hopefully it's another Hydra base." he spoke out loud. "Thanks again for breakfast. See you when we get back." he spoke to Nat and Ana. At least the two could resolve some unfinished business. 


Bucky got himself geared up, grabbing his guns and following the rest of them to their transportation to head off to Manhattan. Bucky's leg restlessly bounced as they made their way there. Now he had Ana's experience running through his head, making him feel more driven to getting rid of anyone sporting a Hydra uniform without any question. 


Once they arrived, Bucky looked around. Much like the other building, this one had smoke billowing from it and building falling everywhere. He brought his gun up, ready to shoot anything that moved as he navigated the rubble.