Freedom | Avengers Story

Part 17

There we go! I'm getting the hang of these blades!

"Freedo-" Bonnie pauses, seeing the damage I made. Her eyes widen with perplexity as she scans the injuries.

I shake my head, staring at her in disappointment.

"My tree..." She sulks, staring at the pale and sharp slices and scratches I created.

"It's a tree, Bon!" I protest, trying to snap her out of her state. She looks like she has seen a ghost and she whacks me across the head, running her fingertips across the markings.

"It's an apple tree, Free! The bark was so beautiful..." She practically sobs, feeling some form of relief from seeing the apples untouched.

By Gods, look at her.

"Get a grip, Bon. I have nowhere to practise, so your apple tree is the only opponent I have." I tease, bringing the blades back inside my arms.

"Then why don't you go back to S.H.I.E.L.D and practise there, instead?!" She belts, sending a shiver up my spine.

She hasn't yelled at me like this before.

I approach her and slowly place my hands on her shoulders, tapping her.

"I'm sorry. Are you okay?" I question. As she turns, I read her eyes, and they are full of curious worry.

"I don't know, Free. It's just...the weapons, you're actually going to be fighting for real now. I know it's been silent for a while, but still. I don't want you getting hurt."  She tells me, her cheeks turning flushed.

She's right. It's 3 months now since I was given these blades. It's also been surprisingly quiet. I was always on alert when out and about. I could never know when Ares would return. But it's been months. Not that I'm concerned, it's just strange.

I cup her face with my ice-cold hands and force her to look up at me. I hold in hilarity as I see her eyes form small droplets of tears that glisten as the sun beats down from behind me.

"Surprised you're so concerned for me." I joke. It must have ticked her off because she knocks my hands off her face and turns away, her thin back facing me.

How childish.

-"I'm sorry. I haven't had people concerned for me for a while, to the point they'd worry if I die. I just appreciate it, is all. I mean, you are like a sister to me, Bon. A sister...I'd never have."

I realise I have shifted the tone in the atmosphere. It's a habit I can't help. And I meant what I said. Bonnie's like a sister...she is a sister.

I'm greeted with silence which is disappointing.

I look at Bonnie who is lost in her thoughts. The bad part is, it looks petrified. She's drawn pale, and the whites of her eyes have taken over her colourful, ocean-coloured irises. Her eyes are as wide as the moon, and her eyebrows furrow to an absurd look.

"Bon, hey. What's the matter?" I ask, trying to catch her gaze. She frantically shakes her head and her eyes meet mine. She replies obliviously, like she has no clue what happened.

-"What?"

She's acting strange. I can feel her quiver under my touch.

-"N-nothing. I was just replaying the day we first met; when you fell from the sky. Uh, I remember how scared I was, hearing a sound so deep in the forest at the crack of night."

She doesn't look reminiscent.

She's hiding something from me.

The best thing I can do it put it aside for now. I'm not obliged to know...yet.

"Yes. That was a painful fall. Say, it was a coincidence we were in the same forest at the same time. Consider it fate. What were you doing in there, anyway?" I bring up. I was always curious as to how we ended up in the same area.

"Um...I was looking for artefacts. Th-they said that forest is filled with artefacts from decades before. I'm a researcher and I take photographs of my findings and take it back to my boss, who puts it out in the newspaper." She explains.

She choked on the word 'researcher', as if it were something untrue.

Something's definitely not right. I might as well ask.

-"Are you not tel-"

"Wow! Look at the time. We must have dinner before it gets cold." She suddenly bursts out, checking the clock on her wrist. She clasps my arms with her hands and moves past me, entering back inside the house.

I'm not letting this slide. If this suspicion of mine gets worse, I might bring it up to the Avengers. Bonnie's unsettlement is making me incredibly uneasy.

I head inside and join her at the table where she sets down two bowls filled with pale pasta covered in crimson sauce, steam rising up and vanishing in the air.

"Let's eat." She says, wiping her hands against the apron tied around her petite waist.

I have a stool as a seat instead of a normal chair with a backrest. My wings do not allow me to sit on that type of chair.

As I sink into the seat, I pick up the utensil and watch as Bonnie does the same. Neither of us eat the pasta, or even touch it. We're in our own little worlds of bother.

"Bonnie, please. I know something is bothering you. Your eyes say more than your mouth." I urge. She doesn't even look at me. All she does is sigh and closes her eyes slowly. It looks like she is about to expose herself.

"Free, the thing is..." she drifts off.

"What?" I push, waiting impatiently for her answer.

"It's about-" she's interrupted by banging and yelling at the front door.

-"Freedom! Freedom, we need you!"

Is that Wanda?

I give a short look to Bonnie before jumping out my seat and racing to the door, swinging it open with one single move.

Her glossy, red hair blows in the breeze as her glass eyes pierce me with alarm.

"What happened?" I question, checking our surroundings to see if Ares had returned.

Nothing. Just quiet.

Wanda attempts to catch her breath, her cheeks turning bright red with fatigue.

I can't tell if she teleported, flew or ran over here, but she's definitely worn out.

Then she finally regains her composure.

-"Loki's escaped!"