The Villain And The Avenger

Two

Wanda was in the kitchen making breakfast when Isabelle came down. She had already gotten dressed for the day, taking the witch by surprise. Tony followed her in. He smelled the pancakes that were being made. The rest of the team filed in, not missing the fact that Thatcher was the only one ready to go. Bucky asked her where she was going but there had been no answer. Steve smiled at the girl, showing her that they were on good terms.

After everyone had finished eating, Izzy offered to wash the dishes. Steve refused to let her and took over. Bucky ushered the girl away, along with Sam and Bruce. They were still stuck on the fact that she had been dressed at 6am. Tony wasn't even wearing a suit yet. Isabelle told them to leave the subject alone and stop asking about it. Some people just liked to get up early.

Tony asked if she would be okay going down to Loki's cell yet. The girl nodded and ran like hell to get away from the boys. After a few minutes on the elevator, she finally arrived at the dungeons. Izzy saw that Loki was still sleeping. She smiled to herself and walked up to the glass, banging really loudly against it. Her laughs echoed off the walls when he jumped awake.

"That was not nice." Loki's voice was hoarse.

"Here." Izzy sent in a plate of pancakes and some water.

"No, thank you." He pushed it away.

"Why are you doing this?" She communicated.

"Why not?" He replied.

Isabelle rolled her eyes and sat down on the chair behind him. They continued to talk through their minds. She found out more information about the man than she thought. He was giving so much away that he didn't realize. Izzy smiled at one of his jokes but quickly tried to hide it. Loki clocked in on it, making a note to tell more. He was starting to like this girl even more now. Her mind was flooded with memories on her childhood that no one knew about.

Loki watched as the scenes would replay in her brain. He tried to offer her some comfort, but the girl pushed it away. She didn't want anyone to know what happened in her past. It had been horrific to live through, having them come back up to the surface would just be more painful. It had been a few hours that Loki and Isabelle were together. The team tried to communicate through the coms but she wouldn't answer. She ended up taking out the com and throwing it somewhere in the dungeons.

Thatcher took her job very seriously. She knew Loki was up to something bad but she also knew he wouldn't give up that easily. Some information had slipped through the cracks, she just needed more. Who was behind this? Why was Loki the one to execute this plan? When were they going to strike? Where were they going to attack? Isabelle blocked those questions so the God of Mischief wouldn't be able to read them.

"Shouldn't you be up there with your team, Love?" Loki flashed his smile.

"Nope. They can wait." Her face held a look of annoyance.

As if on cue, Bucky came down. He saw the girl sitting in front of Loki's cell and walked over to her. Metal Man tried to keep his voice calm when he explained how worried the team had gotten. Izzy just shrugged him off and left without a word. Loki smiled as she walked away, also earning a glare from Barnes. James tried to talk to Isabelle on the elevator. The girl remained silent. Her mind was full of thoughts.

Tony started to scold her for not communicating but Izzy held her hand up. She moved a cup of coffee from his hand to the table, then made a vase fly across the room. It didn't hurt anyone. The vase just smashed against the wall. Everyone fell silent as the girl walked away. Nat offered to go talk to her but James said he'd go instead. She seemed to like Barnes and would more than likely talk to him.

Steve couldn't help but feel jealous. He knew that she didn't feel the same for him, but why go for his best friend? Why hit him where it hurts? Something Rogers didn't know was that Izzy had no feelings like that for James either. The girl felt no romantic feelings towards any of the Avengers. They were all her good friends and nothing more. Bucky was her best friend on the team, Steve being her second. Izzy trusted the Metal Man with every one of her secrets, as he trusted her with his.

When Bucky reached Iz's door, he knocked and asked if it was okay to come in. She tried to keep her cries to a minimum but it was no use. He heard everything. Damn Super Soldier Serum hearing. Metal Man closed the door softly behind him then went over to her. He wrapped his arms around his friend, letting her listen to his heartbeat to calm herself. Over time, Bucky learned how to help the girl when she was upset or anxious or too panicked. Holding her close, rubbing her back, stroking her hair, letting her listen to his heart.

"Why're you crying, Doll?" Bucky asked after a few minutes.

"Too much in my head. Loki saw everything." She took a deep breath.

"I'm so sorry, Iz. I wish there was something I could do or say to help." He held her tighter.

"Thank you for being here." Izzy looked up at him.

"Anything for you, Sweetheart." James kissed her forehead.

Isabelle had fallen asleep a little while later. Bucky gently tucked her in, leaving the girl to sleep in peace. Nat asked if she was okay after seeing him come down. The man confirmed that she's fine. Izzy had been sleeping and no one was allowed to disturb her. She's been through a lot. Steve glared at his best friend. Bucky clocked it straight away. He went over to talk to the Captain. Nat and Tony cleared the room, knowing this was about to get ugly. They were right.

"What the hell, Buck?!" Steve screamed.

"What? She's my friend! I'm not allowed to comfort my friend?!" Bucky yelled back.

"I didn't say that! You know how I feel about her! Why does it feel like you're trying to make a move on her?" Rogers argued.

"Steve, she feels nothing for me. Izzy doesn't feel anything romantically towards any of us!" James sighed.

Captain rolled his eyes and walked away. He didn't believe the man. Isabelle heard everything that happened. Their screaming woke her up. She went down to the kitchen to get a glass of water when she saw Bucky with his head in his hands. He glanced up as he heard someone shuffling around. Izzy flashed the man a sleepy smile. James returned it.

"Did we wake you, Doll?" Bucky whispered.

"It's fine. I never really sleep well anyways." She shrugged.

"Honey, you need rest." Steve came around the corner after hearing her voice.

"I love you both, but I'm fine." Izzy took her glass and left.

Her room was always cold. She never liked being warm. Isabelle loved the cold, loved wrapping herself up in blankets, feeling the nipping temperature on her skin. The girl did make sure she returned in to room temp whenever anyone came to talk to her. Growing up how and where Izzy did, she never wanted to be hot again. Nothing good ever came from being hot or warm or anything other than cold.

Izzy was trained to be up at 5am, dressed by 5:05am. Her life was always on time. She had never been late. If she was late, there would be serious punishments. Sometimes the punishments were so bad that her body gave out on her and she fell unconscious. Bucky never knew the extent of what happened to her. He didn't push her to tell him, she'd explain when she was ready.