𝐒𝐔𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐀 | While the Winter Soldier was a ghost story, Nadine Ryker is a ghost. She's The Ghost. Her past is a mystery, her identity even more so.
Few knew her as Nadya Ivanovna Rykova, the lost recruit of the Red Room, never spoken of aft...
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Novi Grad, Sokovia
Spring 2015
It had been decades since the old church in the heart of Novi Grad had been in use. And it showed. The façade was slowly beginning to crumble and the domed roof had long since begun to decay, the rafters and arches that supported it visible in places through the disintegrating tiles. Miraculously, many of the stained glass windows were still intact, but they were long faded, more disappearing as each year passed. The flagstones of the surrounding courtyard were cracked and lifting, shrubs and grasses straggling forth around them. Even the fence that had been erected to keep curious citizens out was beginning to sag and rust away, the scattering of flowers and notes pinned to it out of habit and tradition looking cold and withered beneath a dusting of late season snow.
It had been condemned and declared unsafe for as long as the Twins could remember.
But not only did no one seem to have the heart to actually tear it down, there simply wasn't the money to do so. So the church lingered, a decrepit, melancholic relic of days long past when Sokovia hadn't been the downtrodden, faded place it had become.
And allegedly, Tony Stark waited for them inside.
As they approached the old building, Nina was beginning to rouse in Pietro's arms, squirming with an adorably exasperated expression as she realized what was going on.
"You don't have to carry me. I'm perfectly capable of walking," she muttered petulantly when her wiggling wasn't enough to get him to put her down. Pietro chuckled. Wanda, meanwhile, shot the other girl a look that was both concerned and aggravated.
"You could hardly keep your eyes open, and you were shaking so bad you couldn't have walked far if you tried," his twin said dismissively, though there was little actual annoyance in it. The concern was much more evident. Nina huffed, weakly shoving at Pietro's chest.
"Well, I'm awake now," she insisted stubbornly. His chuckles continuing despite his serious mood and his focus on what waited for them just beyond the fence they were approaching, Pietro obliged. Gently letting her own, he still kept a steadying hand on her back, not at all surprised when she wobbled upon getting her feet beneath her. Wanda shot him an exasperated look, her eyes betraying a mix of worry for the blonde and impatience to get inside and confront whoever was waiting for them there. Worry gnawed at him too; for all her spirit, Nina was still so weak.
