All in a Blur: Special Edition

The Team

Tony walks Peter out of the room and starts to explain everything to him, arm around his shoulder. I watch them leave and look back at everyone at the table. Sam pulls a chair out and gestures for me to sit down. Then I watch as Nat pushes a box of tissues in front of the seat. 

"Hi, Anna. I'm Natasha. This is Steve, Bruce, Rhodey, and Sam. And over at the end of the table is Vision, Wanda, and Pietro." Nat says, pointing around the room at all the new faces. 

"What an introduction, right?" I say, hoping to laugh it off. I use a tissue to wipe the last of my tears away. I put my hands back in my lap, hoping it's not obvious how uncomfortable and out of place I feel. "Can someone please explain what's going on?" 

"We're the Avengers," Sam says, proudly.

"We used to be." Vision corrects. 

Sam looks at him with a dismissive look on his face, "We all have some power or technology that helps us fight off any threats that might present themselves."

"But we broke up." Vision says, again. "There was a disagreement a few years ago, regarding the Sokovia Accords and we didn't see it fit to stay as a team and risk anything. We got a call from Tony about a month ago that he needed help with a rescue mission."

"That was for me," I say, under my breath.

"Right." Steve says, "But now he wants us to consider getting the team back together. He thinks you're the missing piece." 

"How?" I ask, sitting up straighter in my seat, "I'm not the missing piece, I'm the threat you should be fighting." 

"What do you mean?" Bruce asks.

"Did Tony tell you nothing?" I start.

"No, but that's not unusual," Nat answers.

"I was with Hydra. But you all know that much." Memories of their rescue come flooding back as I recall the people that I saw. "Natasha, you were there, and Steve too."

"That's right." Vision croaks.

"They used me. They experimented on me. They wanted to make me a villain. This," I say, gesturing to my left arm, "was the result of a broken arm. My friend had one just like it." as soon as those words left my mouth, I felt my stomach drop and my face turn red. I tried to speak up and correct my thought but it was too late. 

"There were others?" Nat asks.

"My memory is foggy but yeah, there were others."

"Okay, keep going. What was your friend's name?" Rhodey asks

"He told me his name was... James Barnes. But I called him something else," I say, trying to remember what I can about my friend. "Bucky! His name was Bucky. They nicknamed him 'The Soldier out of Time."

With that, Steve gets up and starts to pace the back wall, chewing on his thumbnail. I watch as his face turns pale and he gets lost in his own thoughts. 

"Did I say something wrong?" I whisper to Nat.

"No, this is just a lot of new information to process. Keep talking, why does Tony want you to be a part of the group?" She asks. But I just ignore the question. 

I watch Steve as he paces, and I have to know what it is he's so worried about. I stop listening to the people around me, as they try to wake me from my trance. I watch Steve and focus hard on his mind and hear him think "Buck's alive? How is that possible"

"How do you know Bucky?" I ask, standing up out of my seat and calling out to Steve. I hear quiet whispers around the table, but it's still not enough to break my focus.

"How could you have known him? He's been there longer than I've been alive. Longer than you've been alive!" I say, staring to feel the strain that put on me. 

"How did you do that?" Pietro asks. Still, I don't look away from Steve until I can get my answer. 

I look at him again, ready to read him, desperate for an answer. Then, I start to feel faint and I lose my strength. Sam stands up from his seat to catch me and hold me up.