INNER DEMONS ▹ B. BARNES [slow updates]

prologue.

Lorna and Bucky barely knew each other.

When they first met, Bucky was a fugitive framed for killing the Wakandan king, T'Chaka. Everything Lorna knew about the man was limited to the things registered in History for being best friends with Steve Rogers and his bad reputation as the Winter Soldier.

But none of that meant anything to her.

Lorna had a shitty life. To add salt to the wound, she had just lost her home country and her younger brother to Ultron's attack, so the last thing in her mind was a rogue assassin.

Unfortunately, life threw them together when Steve and Tony took different sides on the Sokovia Accords, splitting the team.

Unlike her sister Wanda, Lorna took Iron Man's side.

It wasn't an easy decision for her. The last thing the older Maximoff wanted was to fight her sister. Part of her knew that the Accords were all bullshit, but another part couldn't trust herself not to destroy another country and put other people in danger. The crimes she committed when affiliated with HYDRA made her doubt herself. And, as a coward, she didn't want the responsibility of making decisions that involved other people's safety.

Losing her home, her brother, and having her sister as a fugitive took a toll on her. She didn't have the confidence to keep going anymore and started believing she caused more damage than good to the people around her.

In one delirious moment, she almost overdosed on some pills.

Her savior was the most unexpected person - Tony Stark. He found her sprawled on the bathroom floor and helped her cope with the losses after she regained consciousness. He himself wasn't in the best shape either, but they supported each other and found strength in their shared traumas.

It was then that Tony Stark and Lorna Maximoff developed a father-daughter relationship.

When Thanos showed up, she was nowhere near New York, though. Due to her brilliant abilities, King T'Challa invited her to Wakanda to meet up with his sister, Shuri. Tony thought it'd do good for her to spend some time away. Lorna had the opportunity to explore her powers, test her limits, and help a certain brainwashed assassin in the meantime.

Not that he's aware of it.

She gained a friend in King T'Challa, a sister in Shuri, and supporters in the Dora Milaje.

Ultimately, The Snap happened.

With Tony lost somewhere in Space and Wanda turned into dust, Natasha and Steve tried to convince her to go with them to help the world recover and adjust to its new reality. Lorna, however, turned them down and selfishly focused on her own healing in the African country.

She didn't believe she was in the right state of mind to help anyone. Losing Wanda was the last strike. Lorna had another breakdown, cutting her wrists to end her emotional pain and suffering. Okoye and Ayo did their best to keep the young Sokovian distracted and busy, but the General and the Second-in-Command of the Wakanda warriors also lost loved ones, and the three needed all the help they could get.

Once Tony returned to Earth, Lorna was there with Pepper to pick up the pieces. The couple took the young woman to a cabin in the woods so they could recover far from civilization.

When Morgan was born, Lorna gained a new light in her life. Her goddaughter filled her heart with something she believed was lost forever. Purpose. How could she leave that bundle of joy?

For the first year after The Snap, Lorna's been the most amazing Fairy Godmother - as Morgan liked to call her because of her magic. After that period, she was deemed ready to go into the world again.

Researching the families of those who got snapped, she got notice of Sam Wilson's sister's existence and chose to pay a visit to tell her everything that happened that led to his brother's disappearance. It was the least she deserved after losing her brother and becoming a single mother.

Maybe Steve should be doing that, as he used to be Sam's best friend. But, not only was Steve occupied with his own business with Nat and the remaining Avengers, Lorna was desperate to find someone who'd understand her pain. That's why, after some thinking, the green-haired knocked on the black woman's door.

"Hi, I'm Lorna. I knew Sam. Honestly, I'm not the best person to do this, but I think you'd like to know what happened. To have some closure."

Sarah looked at her from head to toe, analyzing the unfamiliar young woman.

"Would you like some coffee?" Sarah eventually invited her in.

While Lorna told Sarah everything she knew about Sam, from the airport battle to the Blip, the black woman quickly found out that the Sokovian was very good with children, despite her background as a HYDRA affiliate.

The green-haired beauty promptly helped the mother calm down the oldest son while Sarah nursed the youngest.

"You're good with them," she pointed out.

"I have a goddaughter," Lorna smiled fondly, thinking about Morgan, "she's my everything."

"Are you sure it was okay to tell me all these things? I thought it was top secret or something."Lorna shrugged.

"I suppose it was. But it's not like I care at this point. Half of the universe got wiped out. They should've more important things to worry about than this."

Sarah chuckled.

"You're something, girl."

And that's how Sarah and Lorna became friends. The Sokovian spent her time between The Wilsons and The Starks for four years, becoming an aunt to Sarah's sons, until Tony sought her help to build a time machine and retrieve the Infinity Stones.

She accompanied Bruce to go after the Time Stone with the Ancient One and was devastated when Natasha, another good friend, didn't return with Clint. Either way, she continued with their mission and successfully defeated Thanos at the cost of Tony's life.

She had lost her young brother, her home country, her young sister for five years, a close friend, and her father figure. What else would the world take from her?

Afraid she'd do something tragic, Lorna allowed herself to get manipulated by Wanda when she created an alternative reality where everything was perfect. It allowed her to be happy for a few months, to heal, and she got two wonderful nephews, Tommy and Billy, along the way.

When reality returned to punch her in the face, Polaris had to find support in other people - such as Sarah and Pepper, while her sister went into hiding somewhere in an unknown location. Wanda had lost her husband and kids, while Lorna didn't even know what she had left to lose.

The government didn't push mandatory therapy on her, which confused Lorna. Apparently, since she wasn't a former brainwashed assassin, she didn't need psychological counseling. Instead, they kindly gave her a place to live. They wanted to keep a close eye on her - just in case - and her whereabouts, so Lorna gained an unwilling roommate with a staring problem.