Once Upon an Avenger

Chapter 25: The power of fear

"How's she feeling?" Pepper asked Steve once she'd arrived back from work that evening.

"I'm not sure." He sighed. "She's been in her room since this morning, I don't know if it's because she's been feeling rough or because she's avoiding us."

"I thought you were getting along."

"We were. Are?" He rubbed the back of his neck and admitted, "I don't know any more. When we got back from our run this morning we heard her scream, another panic attack. From what Sam had told me and what she was mumbling I figured it was because of the sleeping curse. I called Wilson and he managed to help her calm down; Buck tried comforting her after, but it didn't exactly go as planned. She got scared and did the heart thing, but ahe stopped herself as soon as she realised what was going on."

Pepper gasped. "Is he alright?"

"Bucky's fine," he assured. "Hope is the one I'm worried about. She went completely blank afterwards, staring at her hands like she could see something we couldn't."

"Have you tried talking to her?"

"We both have. She either says she's fine or doesn't even answer." Steve shook his head slightly, concerned about Hope. "Pepper, she hasn't eaten anything all day, only the hot chocolate this morning. It's not healthy on a normal day, even more so when you are fighting off a curse." He whispered the last few words, not wanting Bucky or Happy to overhear.

"I'll try talking to her... She's coming down for dinner whether she wants to or not, I'll drag her by her ears if need be."

Steve nodded at Pepper then got to work cooking dinner as she made her way upstairs to Hope's room.

She lightly knocked on the door. "Hope, sweetie, it's Pepper, can I come in?"

There was a shuffling noise from in her room, then the door opened. "Hey, Pep."

"How are you feeling?"

"Better, that's healed," Hope said showing Pepper her hand. "And my temperature has come back down. My head still hurts a bit but it's not too bad. I think I slept through the worst of it."

"I'm glad to hear that." The strawberry blonde smiled, relieved that Hope was feeling better, though it quickly faded from her lips as she remembered what she'd wanted to talk to her about. "Steve told me what happened earlier, with Bucky. They're worried about you, he said you haven't left your room since, not even to eat."

Pepper's voice had become background noise to Hope, who had once again found herself staring at her hands. Focused on the dark red blood that covered them, the blood of her victims. Only to the woman opposite her, they seemed perfectly normal, not a spot of red to be seen.

"Sweetie?" Pepper said, giving Hope's arm a reassuring squeeze.

Flinching, she stepped back. "Please, no, I don't want to hurt you!"

"It's okay..." Pepper took a step back; Hope's reaction had startled her a bit, it was as if she was scared of herself and what she could do. "You're not going to hurt me, don't worry, I trust you."

"But I don't trust me!" Hope's fear had gotten the better of her and things started flying around in the room behind her. "What I did to James, it was instinct, I'm becoming a monster." When she noticed what she was doing, it got worse, and the furniture started to shake uncontrollably.

"Hope, take a deep breath, and everything will be okay, I promise. Just concentrate on me, and my voice."

Listening to what Pepper had said, Hope took a deep breath, then another, and another, remembering her training with Regina. Eventually, after a couple of minutes that felt like hours to her, everything started settling back down in its place. "I'm so sorry," she mumbled, her eyes filled with guilt.