Frostbite |The Alternate Timeline

The Sorrow of Sokovia

Sokovia was just as I remembered it. My heart constricted as I glanced out the window, taking in the scene below us. It was beautiful but tragic. The gaping hole from where Ultron had lifted the city into the air brought back all that guilt. So many lives had been lost here. Zemo had been right. This shouldn't have been my first time back.

The jet landed, and Bucky and I went ahead of the Dora Milaje. We had been upfront with them, and they had agreed to give us a few minutes before they took Zemo into custody. We strolled out of the tree line, heading straight for the memorial just outside of the crater in the Earth.

It was peaceful here. The tree line stretched for miles and the river poured down into the hole, making a new body of water. Well, it was as peaceful as it could be considering the circumstances.

Zemo stood near the statue, his head lifting as we approached. There was no surprise there. He had expected us to come after him here.

"I thought you'd be here sooner," he admitted, eyeing the gun in Bucky's hand, "Don't worry. I've decided I'm not going to kill you."

I snorted as Bucky replied sarcastically, "Imagine my relief."

The gun clicked and Zemo's eyes darted to it for a second, but he decided to ignore it.

"The girl has been radicalized beyond salvation. I warned Sam, but he didn't listen to me. He is as stubborn as Steve Rogers before him- but you... They literally programmed you to kill. James, do what needs to be done. Karli has people everywhere, and there is only one way to make sure she cannot continue her mission," Zemo tried to level with him. He knew his time as a free man was about to expire.

"He's not a killer anymore. I think you know that now," I told Zemo, my tone cold. He nodded, agreeing with me to my surprise.

"I appreciate the advice- but we're gonna do it our own way."

Zemo chuckled ironically, "Yeah. I was afraid you would say that."

The gun clicked again as Bucky flicked the safety off and he leveled it to Zemo's face. I blinked at him in surprise but didn't say anything. There was no way Bucky would kill him after everything. Not even if he did deserve it.

Zemo nodded to him encouragingly, as if he had been craving for this exact moment to pass. He wanted to die. Bucky pulled the trigger and it was silent. Zemo flinched and met his eyes with confusion. Bucky dropped the bullets to the ground, letting them bounce off the stone. Disappointment filled Zemo's eyes as the Dora Milaje approached us from behind.

"Ladies," he greeted them stiffly before turning back to us, "I took the liberty of crossing off my name in your book. I hold no grudges for what you thought you had to do. Goodbye, James."

He took a few steps and stopped next to me. I met his eyes, tearing my gaze away from the statue before us.

"I'm glad you finally came back. The people of Sokovia deserve that much from the Avengers."

"Yeah, well I'm pretty much the only one left," I smiled slyly. Which was true. Most of the others were dead.

He chuckled, "That's true, but there's a reason you are the last one."

"What do you mean?"

"I know you didn't mean for all this to happen and out of your lot... You seem to be the most compassionate; you have a stronger will. I tore you apart from the inside. Gave you the worst news you could receive- and yet you forgave the man responsible for your parent's deaths. Most people could never do such a thing. You have a genuine heart, Melanie. Don't let the passing of time and these conflicts you tend to find yourself in take that from you."

My throat tightened at his words and he let the two women lead him away. I didn't know what to say to any of that. Was there a reason I was still here other than just dumb luck?

Ayo cleared her throat and said, "We will take him to the Raft, where he will live out his days. It would be prudent to make yourself scarce in Wakanda for the time being, White Wolf."

I smiled at their name for Bucky and let them say their goodbyes. My hand trailed across the memorial's rough surface as I approached. My thoughts wandered to the woman I had failed to save all those years ago. She was the reason I had worked so hard, why I had finally been able to master my magic.

Thinking of how I had trained brought up other memories. Memories with Stephen, who had been the best teacher I could have ever asked for. I missed him more than I wanted to admit. We hadn't spoke in awhile, and it was my fault. I was bitter over the loss of my magic. It wasn't his fault; I knew that, but it was difficult to see him now. I'd do better once we got home.

Ayo joined the others and left Bucky and I alone. He took a few steps forward, stopping next to me. The only sound left was the noise of the water around us. It was serene.

"You alright?" he prodded, nodding toward the memorial.

I sighed and replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just one of my biggest regrets, you know? These people didn't deserve what happened to them. We should have prevented all of it from happening."

There was a beat of silence, and he said, "What are your other regrets?"

I cocked a brow at him. He normally didn't ask such risky questions. All he did was shrug, the curiosity written all over his face.

"Well, if you must know...  Not snapping in Tony's place is the biggest one," I admitted, and his face scrunched at that.

"That's it?" he asked in surprise.

"Do you want my life to be that bad that I have a list that never ends?" I scoffed in amusement. He gave me a pointed look. "There are things that I wished hadn't happened- but they're not really regrets on my part."

His face relaxed at that. Had he thought I'd say something that had to do with him? That maybe I regretted not killing him in Russia? Then something else occurred to me.

"There is one more..." I hesitated, suddenly growing nervous. He peered over at me, silently encouraging me to go on. I didn't know if I could, but it had been eating at me.

"What is it?"

"The only other thing I regret is not being honest with you about how I lost the Eldritch magic," I took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to even explain what had happened. Steve had made me promise that I wouldn't tell anyone, but it wasn't fair to the others. It wasn't fair to me either. I was sick of lying.

Bucky cusped the side of my face, letting his thumb run across my cheek. I closed my eyes and soaked in this moment with him.

"You can tell me, Melanie."

I gestured to the water and stepped out of his touch. He followed me to the edge, stopping directly in front of the water. My hand waved across the surface and his gaze jumped between me and the water in confusion.

"It's easier if I just show you what happened."

"What- you can just show me here?" he wondered in awe.

I chuckled, "It's something I learned how to do in my time at Kamar-Taj. I can recreate my memories using water. Obviously, its only useful in certain scenarios."

"That's amazing," he muttered, anxiously waiting to see whatever it was.

I took a deep steadying breath. Knowing Bucky, he'd be pretty upset with me after. I glued my eyes to the memory that began to unfold in front of us, unable to watch his expressions as it did. I prayed he'd forgive me once it was over.