Forty minutes after lunch, Jayden found herself sitting at the side of the training room, awaiting the three Avengers to exit the weapons locker. Since they were all together again, Steve suggested the team undergo training shortly after lunch. The majority of them attempted to wriggle out of it with excuses of wishing to celebrate with Jayden, but they were swiftly road-blocked when she agreed wholly with the captain and wished to see them in action.
In the end, only Bruce and Tony could worm away, with one unwilling to become an angry, semi-uncontrollable beast and the other making up something on the spot about suit upgrades.
She swung her legs impatiently. With all the sugar and the excitement of her abilities' freedom, it was no surprise that she had way too much energy in her tiny body. Her fingers flexed as she stared at them, relishing the constant buzz that had been kept away for so long. Another reason she wanted them to train: she really hoped she could join in.
After what felt like forever, the adults finally walked into the main room, clad in their workout attire and grasping their varying weapons. Steve smirked as he noticed her at the edge of the chair and had them do their own thing, allowing her to come up close to whoever she wanted. She chose him, eyeing his shield and wondering how it actually worked.
"You can try. I've been using it for years, and even I don't know the complete ins and outs." Steve shrugged as she asked him about it.
With Jayden on his heels, he walked to the right of the room toward an assortment of dummies positioned at various heights and places. "Maybe it has something to do with how the vibranium curves?"
He threw the shield at the furthest dummy; it sliced through the air as a silver blur, its sharp rim spinning in a controlled manner. At first, she thought it would cut straight through its neck, but instead, it bounced off its chest and loyally returned to its owner. Steve caught it easily and used the momentum to deliver another throw, this time making the dummy tip over.
"How does it always bounce back to you?" Jayden blinked. "It makes no sense."
Steve's eyes glinted with amusement. "That's how it goes. Here."
He handed her the shield, but as soon as he let go, she stumbled, not expecting such a weight that he effortlessly carried. She would've fallen over if it wasn't for him steading her by the crook of her elbow. Pressing her lips together, she tightened her grip on the back strap and attempted to hold it up in a defensive position like she saw Steve do earlier, but it was too much for her, and within twenty seconds, her arm began straining.
"Take it. It's too heavy." She pushed it back to its owner and shook the ache from her arm. "I don't know how you make it look so easy."
"Benefits of super strength."
"I'm supposed to be stronger as well, double stronger, actually."
"Well," Steve pondered. "Maybe your body hasn't recovered enough from the lab for those benefits to show yet."
"But it's been weeks."
"Healing takes time; you'll get there, eventually."
She huffed, repeating him with a scowl. Even with her abilities, physically, she was as weak as a kitten. Steve repeated his throwing a few more times before he twisted back to her, a hesitant expression on his face. "Can I ask you some questions about Bucky? Clint told me you knew him."
"Um yeah, sure."
"What was he like around you?"
"Cold. He was just a soldier following orders," she shrugged. "Apart from that one time, of course."
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Unforeseen¹
FanfictionJYD2641 had enough. In her seven years, she's only ever known the cruel hands of her doctors, who were determined to make her the next Winter Soldier. All she'd ever known was death, pain, and fear. Instead of a parent's loving embrace, she had the...
