Necessary Good, Unnecessary Evil | No rest For Wounded Souls [Bucky Barnes]

The Lighthouse Foundation

"Revenge is an act of passion; vengeance of justice."
-Samuel Johnson

****

Nova's POV

Five years later

The moon is bright in the sky of Hell's Kitchen, not a cloud to cover this cold night.
"How many?" I wonder, laying low on my stomach on top of the container.
The man in the black suit tilts his head a bit, his gaze resting on an undefined spot in front of him. "At least ten adults, about twenty kids." He says, putting on his mask.
I sit up, bringing my hand to my earpiece. "You're up, Natasha."
"Copy that." She replies over comms, and I remain in silence, waiting for my cue.
"Why are you nervous?" He asks, and I turn to look at him. 
"I drink too much coffee, Matt." I deadpan, running my finger down the dull side of my knife.
He scoffs, nodding. "The kids are ok, just scared." Matt tries to reassure me, but I'm pretty sure he knows this won't work. Not till we're done here.
"Yeah, that's already enough." I mutter, seeing a group of armed men heading to the last delivered container and opening it.

Two men walk in, starting to drag out struggling kids.
They can't be older than five, maybe eight years old. This is making my blood boil.
The children get moved into two white vans, and I hear a single gunshot exploding in the distance. That's the cue.
I turn my head to Matt, seeing him running away, and I jump to the ground, in front of one of the men, punching him in the face.
He hits the ground, unconscious.
The others open fire on me, and I hide behind a brick wall, moving away from the vans. I don't want the kids to get caught in the crossfire.

Gunshots stop, and I hear a choked scream. 
Matt takes down two men, and I use my powers to stop another from shooting him.
"Two are running south." I warn, knowing Nat is probably already on them.
A man screaming supports my thesis, and I return my attention back to the man charging at me.
I move my weight on my right leg, dodging him, and swing my closed fist, throwing him against a container.
The engine of a van roars, making my head jerk to the side. "Ruben, you have four coming." I shout, running after the vehicle.
"Make it two." I hear Frank speak over comms.
"One, actually." Ruben rectifies.
"Clean." They both say as I finally stop the van.

I run to the driver's side, opening the door and dragging the man out. "What a beautiful night, huh?" I smirk, holding my gun to his head.
A thud followed by metal cracking behind me makes my heart skip a beat.
I put a bullet in the man, rushing to the van and using my power to force open the door.
"Woah! Calm down, tiger," I huff, holding up my hands.
I narrow my eyes, scanning the van. They all seem fine, and one of them is standing up in front of the group. "Не смей ее трогать!" A kid shouts, his hand glowing with dark red energy. "я убью тебя!" He threatens, his arm stretched out to shield the little girl behind him.
"I'm not gonna hurt you. я тебя не обижу." I repeat myself, not sure if he speaks English.

The little girl has long dark curly hair, and she's holding a white kitten in her arms. "Hey, Как зовут этого котёнка?" I wonder, and she looks down at the cat. 
"Alpine." She responds, hiding behind the boy.
I glance at the other kids, noticing they're all waiting for something, keeping their attention on the kid in front of me. "And what's yours?" I ask, trying to earn their trust.
She hesitates, carefully studying me. 
I feel my head getting a bit dizzy, and a faint presence starts to form in my mind. "Veronika." She says.
I realize she's been reading my mind, and I let her in, careful of what I let her see. 

"That's a very nice name, Veronika. My name is Nova. Can you tell me if any of your friends are hurt?" I inquire, and she shakes her head, slightly less scared.
"That's good." I smile and move my gaze to the boy.
"What about you? Do you want to tell me your name?" He looks at me, his lips pressed together in a thin line.
"Daniel." His voice is confident, even if his eyes betray him.
I nod, taking a deep breath. "Okay, Daniel. I know bad people have been scaring you and your friends, but you are going to be alright." I soothe, putting my gun back in the holster on my hip.
"How do I know you're not bad?" He probes, not letting his guard down.
I grin, sighing. "You're a smart kid, Daniel. I promise I'm not going to hurt any of you." 
"Ask your friend. She can read my mind." I point out, and he looks down at the girl.