The Marble Notebooks

Chapter 48

When Pietro and I returned to the compound, I did my best to get my shit together. I kept Julia's room clean, I cut back on the drinking, and I began working out with everyone again. Steve was thrilled about my change in attitude. I think the new therapist was working out well too. But Professor X's talks and getting some perspective at the school is what really made me try to get back to a routine.

Pietro was like a whole new person since we got back. He was researching the mutant history and X-Men history in his free time. Wanda even listened to him rant about everything he learned about the X-gene and mutants.

Now that it's been almost six months since Julia has gone, everyone began getting used to not having her around. It still hurt like hell when I thought about her. Her room was a constant reminder of her absence. Some days were better than others. Most days I worked out, ate dinner with the guys, and watched movies with Wanda and Pietro. But other days, I'd be locked in her room with a bottle of liquor and trying to blackout to get some sleep. It went back and forth.

After a drinking binge one day, I decided to try and use Julia's laptop on her desk. I never use the computer Stark gave me so I'm not positive how this works. Once I typed in Julia's password the Google search bar was already on the screen, it was similar to the one on my phone. I typed in Brotherhood and the date of the last sighting a few weeks ago. Sure enough, their pictures came up. I clicked on Julia's picture to enlarge it.

Her hallowed cheeks, dark circles under her glassy emotionless eyes took up the screen. Just looking at the picture I could hear her horribly scared voice from that day in my head over and over again. I felt sick to my stomach looking at her frail body, she looked so unhealthy. Why wouldn't they make sure she was healthy? I'm sure that device hooked up to her neck took such a toll on her body. Anything made by the strength of the tesseract had to do some messed up things.

Someone knocked on the door and I slammed the laptop shut. Wanda poked her head in.

"Hank and Nightcrawler came by. They're talking to Tony and Cap in the conference room," She said. I followed her out of the room to the living area where everyone else was sitting.

"Why are they here?" I asked and looked out the window to see a sports car sitting in front of the building.

"They want to bring a couple of us with them to Germany, where the last sighting was," Sam said from the couch.

I immediately started towards the elevator, Wanda right behind me.

"I'm going," I said once the door shut with us in it.

"Me too," Wanda demanded.

We got to the main floor and went straight to the conference room with the guys sitting around the table.

"No, no nope," Tony said standing to face us. "You're both coming in here with that look on your face, no,"

"What face?" I snapped back at him. He just rolled his eyes at me.

"We want to go with you," Wanda said.

"Wanda you're going. Pietro too," Cap said. "That's it," He said looking over to me.

"What the hell is that about?" I asked stepping around the table to them.

"Bucky, they will overpower you in a second. If it comes down to a fight with Julia she would rip your arm off immediately and I don't want to have either of you hold onto that," Cap said standing up at eye level with me.

"C'mon seriously?" I was agitated.

"They are also most likely still working with HYDRA, based on what the Professor has found out," Hank said.