Flawed Minds

Chapter Thirteen

Nova's P.O.V

I was laying in my bed but I couldn't settle; a strange uneasy feeling had begun to grow in the pit of my stomach, and I decided to catch Bruce before he went to sleep. I waited, listening to the sounds of the other team members entering their rooms and closing their doors down the hall knowing Bruce's routine and that he'd be up late. When I thought everyone was settled I opened my door and peeked out. To my complete surprise Bucky Barnes stood silently, a glass of water held carefully in his metal hand as the other was reaching for the door handle a couple rooms down. We watched each other cautiously for a moment, his expression unreadable and his eyes dark, then he disappeared into the room just as Bruce walked round the corner, surprised to see me still awake.

"Hey, is everything alright?" He asked, and I realized I still had that stupid deer in headlights look on my face.

"N-no I'm fine. I was waiting for you actually, I knew you'd be in the lab late," I cleared my throat. "Look- I don't know how to explain it but... I feel weird." It was obvious Bruce wasn't quite sure how to respond for a second.

"What do you mean by 'weird'?"

"Everything- it feels like something is wrong, like it's a feeling that won't go away, and I can't shake the thought that something's being hidden from me," I murmured, and Bruce's face changed in realization; for a moment I thought I saw a flash of guilt in his eyes.

"There are a few things we can't tell you right now, but that's just a security thing- you know how we're not meant to discuss missions with anyone else right?" I sighed.

"I know... But this feels different somehow."

"Well, I promise you we'll tell you everything soon enough- You'll be an official member of the team before you know it." I admit that made me smile, and I hoped he was right. For a moment, I considered admitting to him my other secret; that I often was haunted by a pair of infamous emerald eyes in the back of my mind. The notion passed though, and instead I decided to keep that to myself. I wished him goodnight as he entered his room, and I closed my door before getting into bed; the uneasy feeling still not going away.

I woke up a little late and confused that morning after a rough night's sleep- my clock said 8am and I knew I was supposed to be in the gym way earlier, so I rushed to get up washed and dressed before leaving my room to find the others, nervously picking at my sleeves as I walked. I noted to myself that an all black wardrobe made picking outfits out very easy, especially matching gym gear. I made my way to the gym and found Nat just about to leave.

"Hi Nat, I'm so sorry, I woke up late- it was a long day yesterday, I'll be up extra early tomorrow-" I started rambling my apology but she cut me off.

"No need to worry about that, it looks like you'll have to train with Bruce for the next couple days." I was confused. "The rest of us have a mission to complete."

"Oh-" I slapped a hand over my forehead. "I completely forgot, Steve mentioned something about that before I went to sleep- Is there anything you can tell me about it?" I asked her in the hopes she might let something- anything- slip. She smiled at me as we started to make our way through the tower.

"All I can tell you is that we've found another target and that we need to ask him a few questions."

"That's all you can tell me?" I asked, a little frustrated.

"Yep." We reached the same room I fell asleep in last night and joined Clint and Steve who were waiting, already suited up and ready to go.

"Mornin' Creep" Clint greeted. "I'm afraid we'll have to postpone the training sessions for now- but when we get back it's game on." I grinned.