The Winter Wraith

Chapter 21

“We know nothing about her! No file from Hydra, no birth certificate, it’s like she doesn’t exist. And you’re suggesting she joins the team?” Romanoff said in a disbelieving tone.

“What do you know about her, Buck? How often did you work with her?” Steve questioned.

“I trained her some, and that was strictly hand-to-hand combat or weapons training. I wasn’t even aware until we all met her a couple of weeks ago that she had powers. For the rest of the time we weren’t in training, we were kept separate. I only went on a handful of missions with her. Hydra kept her uncharacteristically isolated for some reason.”

“How do you know we can even trust that girl? This could all be a setup to infiltrate the Avengers and make us vulnerable. It wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened. And are you forgetting she pushed Clint off a ten story building? She’s dangerous,” Wanda butted in.

“I don’t, and I haven’t forgotten. But have you guys even taken a second to look at the state she’s been in this past week? The way she’s always seeking permission to do the most mundane tasks? She hasn’t said anything, but it’s clear she’s up constantly with nightmares, the rare instances she actually tries to go to sleep. On top of that, she barely eats anything, and she’s barely said more than a few sentences to you all and that was only when you were interrogating her.”

“Get to the point, Barnes.”

“I’m trying to say that although we don’t have much concrete information on her background aside from what I can remember, it’s clear she’s been through a hell of a lot, and it’s clearly still greatly affecting her. No sane person would want to go back to that.”

“But her loyalty could change in a matter of fifteen seconds. Do you even know her trigger words?” Wanda argued.

“While I do, the situation is more complicated than that. Her trigger words are not effective anymore,” Bucky stated, not explaining beyond that.

“She’d be a good asset to the team,” Steve admitted, “but she’s just a kid, Buck, and as you said, she’s already been through so much. How could you ask that of her?”

“Shouldn’t she have a chance at a childhood?” Clint added.

“It’s more than that. She hurt people during her time as the Winter Wraith. She feels guilty and ashamed. This would be her opportunity to redeem herself, clear her ledger,” Bucky glanced at Romanoff, “Coming from personal experience, I know she’d want this.”

“Fine. But you still have Stark to convince, and Ross is a whole other problem,” Natasha conceded.

On the other hand, Steve still looked unconvinced as he crossed his arms.

“I’m not expecting her to join right away, she’ll need some time. But at the very least, she can train as one of us with her powers. What do you say, Steve?”

“If she wants to train with us, she may, on one condition. As Nat pointed out, we truly know nothing about the girl. We need her version of the full story. She’ll have to answer all of our questions with the utmost transparency if she wants to stay. If she doesn’t cooperate, then it’s to the Raft. Any other opinions?” he asked, surveying the rest of his team.

The room showed its accordance with silence.

“Then it’s settled. She’ll officially start full training tomorrow morning. If she shows improvement and trust, then she’ll be able to be in the general public without supervision, and have a chance to just be a teen.”

The team started to file out of the room, leaving Natasha and Bucky alone in the conference room. Natasha was giving him one of her signature icy glares.