I sat beside Y/N’s bed, holding her hand, fingers laced tightly together. Her skin was ice-cold. Steve stood at the foot of the bed, his gaze fixed on her still form.
“Does Tony know what they did to her yet?” I asked, my eyes refusing to leave Y/N’s face.
“Not yet,” Steve replied. “He says her physiology is…strong. Like a soldier. She probably underwent training. They might have been trying to create a young Winter Soldier.”
“Does he know about those colorful dot things in her DNA?”
“Bruce is still analyzing it,” Steve said. “He thinks she was injected with some kind of Super Soldier Serum, but they’re not certain.”
I nodded, still staring at Y/N. *Come back to me,* I silently pleaded.
I hoped Y/N was okay. And Bucky. The thought of discovering your little sister had been alive for seventy years, frozen by HYDRA…it had to be devastating.
“Hey, man!” Ned’s voice snapped me back to reality. I’d been lost in thought about Bucky and his sister.
“Hey,” I smiled. “What’s up?”
“Nothing much,” Ned said, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “I got the new Death Star LEGO set yesterday. Wanna build it after school?”
“Yeah! We can do it at my place if you want.”
“Sounds good,” Ned nodded enthusiastically.
The school bell rang, separating us from our conversation.
I couldn’t focus during class. All I could think about was Y/N and whether she was alright. I hoped I’d be able to see her soon.
I sat down next to Ned at lunch. He started talking about Star Wars, but I barely listened, my mind still replaying the mission, Y/N, Bucky, even Steve—he was affected by this too. Suddenly, Ned jabbed my shoulder. I stared at him, confused, until he pointed.
“Dude, look!” Ned exclaimed, gesturing towards someone across the cafeteria.
It was Liz. I’d been crushing on Liz since second grade. She was wearing a high-waisted jean skirt and a white shirt, and she looked stunning.
(Like this)
“You two look like idiots,” Michelle said from further down the table, her voice dry.
“Am I sitting with you guys, or am I just an illusion?” she asked, then returned to her book. I just shook my head, bewildered.
After school, Ned went to his place to get the LEGO set, and I decided to patrol as Spider-Man. I’d been swinging around for a while, and completely forgotten about Ned—I really was a good friend. I climbed through my window, crawling on the ceiling. I quietly closed the door behind me, then heard a loud crash. I slowly turned around to see Ned sitting on my bed, LEGOs scattered around his feet. I took off my mask and ran to him.
“You…you’re Spider-Man!” Ned blurted out, his voice loud with excitement.
“Shh, shh, shh, keep it down!” I hissed, pressing a button on my suit. It peeled away from my body.
“Dude! You have pecs!” Ned whispered, his eyes wide. I covered my chest with my arms, embarrassed. Aunt May laughed and opened the door.
“Well, I burnt the meatloaf. Guess we’ll just have to eat out. Honey, put some clothes on,” she said, nodding at me. “Do you wanna come, Ned?”
“I uh—” Ned started to say, but I interrupted him.
“He, uh—can’t. He has to go…” I stammered. Aunt May just nodded and left the room. “Dude, you need to go now.”
“Wait, I have a question,” Ned said before heading out.
“What?”
“How are you able to do this *and* the Stark internship?”
“This *is* the Stark internship.”
“Ohhhh,” Ned said, finally putting two and two together.
I pushed Ned out the door and said goodbye.
Bruce and I were trying to decipher what HYDRA had done to Y/N. Her DNA wasn’t natural—they had to have injected her with something, some kind of Super Soldier serum. Her muscle mass wasn’t typical for a woman in the 1940s; it was stronger, built like a soldier's.
“Sir, Y/N has awakened. Mr. Rogers and Mr. Barnes require your assistance,” FRIDAY announced.
I rushed out of the lab.
Bucky and I were discussing memories of Y/N when her eyes started to flutter open.
“Steve!” Bucky gasped, moving to the edge of his seat, his gaze fixed on Y/N with concern. Then, without warning, Y/N pinned Bucky to the floor, her hands around his throat. Her eyes were blank. I ran to try to pull her off, but she wouldn’t budge.
“FRIDAY! Get Tony over here now!” I shouted.
“Mr. Stark is on his way,” FRIDAY replied.
Moments later, Tony burst through the door. He saw what was happening and injected Y/N with something. She fell off Bucky, gasping for air. I helped Bucky stand up. Y/N lay on the floor, unconscious. Tony had tranquilized her.
“What happened?” Tony asked.
I explained everything. He nodded, understanding.
They’d put her in a cell with a comfy bed. She lay unconscious. Bucky sat in a chair in front of the glass wall separating them. Steve and Tony stood in a corner, discussing what to do.
“Do you think she’s still under HYDRA’s control?” Steve asked.
“She clearly is. She attacked Bucky within seconds of waking up. How do we know she won’t try to break out of that cell and kill the rest of us? I know she’s Bucky’s little sister, but we need to think about the team’s safety.” Tony spoke quietly.
Steve just sighed and shook his head, unsure what to do.
“Has Bruce found out anything else?”
“No, but we’re still looking.”
Steve nodded. “Is there any way to get her memories back? It worked for Bucky.”
“Yeah, but it took time, and it required keywords. We don’t know what will unlock her memories, or how long it will take.”
“Is there a way to speed it up?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll work on it. We might have to do the same thing we did with Bucky. Just wait and have patience.”
Patience is a bit—
“HEY WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE, AUTHOR!” Steve yelled.
Okay! I’m sorry Steve! I’m sorry!