The Broken Avenger

Chapter Twenty-Two: Only the Beginning

"She has a point brother. How long do you think this will keep her violent side dormant?" Navera asked. Sadly, she had a point. The magic that I used to free her from that state only lasts about two weeks. I could've made it last longer, but the bracelet wrapped around my ankle prevents me from using my full power. It seemed that Kida knew the magic wouldn't last forever.

"I don't know. Two weeks at most, but I can't be sure." She nodded as she stood up straight. "But right now that doesn't matter. As long as she is unharmed..." I trailed off.

"Kida," Bucky called. He rushed over and fell to his knees beside her. He placed his metal hand on the back of her head. She looked up at her brother with tears in her eyes. I let go of her; allowing her to embrace her brother. They both hugged each other; Bucky whispering in her ear. Bucky looked at me and nodded his head to me. "Thank you." I nodded my head to him. I stood and went to my sister's side.

"They won't have long. If they're going to do something to help her, they're going to need to start now," she whispered in my ear. I nodded my head. Bucky then picked up his sister bridal style and walked out of the room. Steve and Sam trailed behind him with the male of the twins between them. Natasha and Storm followed suit with the other twin between them. Navera and I followed them all; trailing behind.

"She has so much more power than they realize," I commented. Navera nodded.

"Yeah, she does. With each passing day, she seems to get stronger. And that isn't good," she replied. We followed them to the lab where Bucky set his sister down on the medical bed. Navera and I stood in the doorway and watched them work. They propped her upright on the bed and just scattered around the room.

"We need to get everyone out of here. The party's over," Steve said. Sam nodded and Natasha did the same.

"We'll see to it that everyone leaves," Natasha said. She nodded her head at Sam, and they left the room.

"What are we going to do Bucky? We can't exactly operate on her because we don't even know where to start," Steve said. Steve glanced over to my sister and me before walking closer to his friend and whispered. "Loki never told us how long the magic will last for. He still had his brace on his ankle when he did it. And somethings telling me that we have limited time," he stated. Bucky looked at us and nodded his head to the side; telling us to come inside. We both walked in and I stood on the opposite side of the bed. Kida looked at me before looking back at her brother.

"Could you guys give us a moment," she asked. Bucky looked down at her and nodded. He kissed the top of her head before leaving.

"We'll be right outside," he informed. He looked at me.

"Don't worry. Navera will explain what you want to know," I explained. He nodded before leaving the room; the doors sliding shut behind them. When I returned my gaze to Kida, she just stared at me.

"Thank you," she finally said after a few seconds. "I didn't get a chance to say it but thank you." I smiled at her and put my hand on hers. She waved her fingers at me; motioning me down to her level. I sat on the edge of the bed and leaned towards her. She placed both hands on the sides of my face. Her fingertips brushing my bottom lip and a dark spot on my jaw. I just looked at her as she continued to feel my face. I eventually took her hands away from my face.

"Kida I am fine. Don't worry about me because you have no reason to," I told her as I placed her hands back on her leg.

"This wouldn't have happened if I had stopped him. You didn't deserve that. It's my fault you were beaten." I stopped her by waving my hand at her and shaking my head.

"Stop it. Stop doing that. You don't need to do this to yourself. There is a time and place for everything and now is not the time nor place," I said. She nodded and looked down in her lap. "The magic that I used to stop you was a charm that my mother taught me. It would have worked completely but..." I stopped and looked down at the brace around my ankle.

"I know that I have limited time. But your charm was just enough to make my powers dormant. Which means that for the time being, I'm mortal," she said as she sat up. I got up for a moment to let her fix her covers and readjust herself.

Once she finished, I sat back down and asked her to better explain what happened to her. She explained that during the party Tony found her Trigger words as she calls them. Certain words that are spoken in a certain language can make her do different things. She referenced the party scenario. When Tony said "disgrace" that word made her totally submissive and more susceptible to suggestion. After Tony used one Trigger word, it triggered something else. She didn't know who or what it was, but he is supposedly more lethal than any of her trigger words combined.

"Can you think of a way to stop whatever that is," I asked? She pressed her lips together and shook her head.

"No. They didn't put me under the same experiment as Bucky. I was made to overpower the Winter Soldier. This is why they put me through two types of training. The only way to fix whatever is going in with me is to kill me," she replied. That made my stomach turn. It made me wonder if she's attempted to kill herself before. Just thinking about it made a hole in my chest.

"That's out of the question."

"Well, there is no other way that I can think of. And magic can't fix what's wrong with me!" I nodded my head in understanding. She was getting frustrated the more we spoke about the matter. I could hear it in her voice. I sighed and got up. I leaned over her and kissed her on the forehead.

"Get some rest. Clear your mind. We will discuss this later," I whispered to her; my lips barely brushing her skin. I pressed my lips to her forehead once more before pulling away and leaving. I know that there is a way to free her mind. There has to be. I can't sit here and watch her suffer; I refuse to. When I left the lab, Bucky escorted me back to my room.

"We decided to allow you to roam around the tower. You seem to understand this situation better than we do. So in order for us to help her, we have to start by trusting you," Bucky said as he leaned against the door frame. I changed my clothes back. I nodded and thanked him. He was granting me free access to their facility. I don't know if that was the wisest idea they had but I'm not one to complain nor stop them.

After having a discussion with my sister, we both settled down for the night. My sister stayed with me for the night. I let her sleep on my bed while I took the floor. While still contemplating, I fell asleep with a heavy heart and a scattered mind. There must be a way to save her. I'm not taking no for an answer.