A Haunting Past: an Avengers/x-men fanfiction

5K Bonus Chapter (Edited)

I stood outside as the snow kissed my cheeks. My ballet bag hung at my side and a thermos warmed my freezing hands. It's been eight months since Nat and Clint left me here in Russia. The leads about the Black Widow project were false but I stayed here to practice ballet. It was the best way out of the Avengers without making it seem like I was running away from something. Because, honestly, I was running away from the only family I have ever known. I don't want them to think that I wasn't grateful but I needed time to process my own emotions without getting hurt.

Some nights I wonder what I would have happened if I decided that the Avengers were the best option for me. Here, I spend all of my time alone either in my apartment or in the studio. My teacher is understanding and lets me come in to practice whenever I feel like it. It's been helping me cope with my nightmares and slowly I've been having less of them.

During this same time, I kind of regret not going back. The Avengers keep growing in size and I kind of missed a huge civil war between Tony and Captain. I didn't get any specifics but I knew there was a huge blowout about Bucky. Part of me knows that I would have been a problem for both sides so I guess it's a good thing I was away for that.

I adjust the strap on my bag as I check my watch. I still have about twenty minutes before the train should be here. Instincts kick in and I glance around the terminal nervously. I had a nightmare last night which has put me on edge. It was fruitless to worry when things couldn't be helped.

"Hello beautiful." The voice broke caught me off guard and I look up. The man looked eerily familiar but I couldn't put a name to the face before me. I take a small step back trying to put some distance between myself and the strange man.

"I'm not interested." I tell him as I see my train approaching. Usually, I would be sent into a panic attack when a man approached me. Victor really did mess me up big time. I push back a loose strand of red hair hoping to avoid talking to him but I knew that was way too much to ask. Men seemed to be drawn to me.

"Captain needs to speak to you." He tells me as he puts a hand gently on my back. I tense up letting my instincts kick in. "Oh, I'm Scott by the way." The introduction came a little too late because honestly, I wanted to break his arm for even touching me.

"Tell Cap I'm sorry but I'm not an Avenger anymore." I glare at him as I make my way towards the open train doors. He grabs my arm and I whip around to punch him in the face. My hand connects with its target and a waterfall of blood erupts from his broken nose. "Don't touch me!" I shake the pain from my throbbing wrist hoping that it wouldn't swell before class.

"That's no way to treat a friend, Allison." That voice was defiantly one I wouldn't ever forget. My eyes meet Nat's and I feel my heart start racing in my chest. I'd heard about the big battle between Tony and Cap but I knew for a fact Nat wasn't on Cap's team. Were they all really still fighting right now? What had happened when I got away from all of that? "She's not interested, tiny."

"She's not interested in your offer." Scott says through his hands. I glance between the two of them. Scott was right, I wasn't interested in what Nat had to say. I wanted to see my friend but I didn't want to be told that the Avengers needed me.

"You're going to make me late for practice." I tell both of them as I get onto the train. Nat joins me but Scott stays behind. His nose was still releasing a waterfall of blood. I almost wanted to apologize but he should learn to watch who he's touching because some girls can break his arm. "Who was that?" I ask as we take a seat far from the door.

"Ant Man." She tells me as the train pulls away from the station. The tiny comment seems to make more sense now. "So, I heard you're happy here." I nod trying to avoid talking about what I've been doing. Besides ballet, I've been doing jobs on the side. I'll occasionally do a mission for Fury for a couple hundred bucks but for the most part I had separated myself from everything. The only time I'll really take a mission is when I'm running low on cash and I need something for ballet.

"What do you want Nat?" I ask tensely. She didn't fly here to talk me out of Scott's offer. She wanted something herself but she won't come out a say it. "I know you miss me but I can't and won't come back. I'm so much happier here and my past stopped haunting me here." I watch as Moscow flashes past and I have the odd feeling I wouldn't be here for much longer.

I just started settling in here. I've made a few friends along the way and my partner is fantastic. He worked really hard trying to win my trust and now we dance like we were made for each other. My apartment is also coming together. My landlady is kind and doesn't ask too many questions. Her grandson is a few years older than me and has asked me out several times. All in all, I'm living a pretty normal life but I doubt Nat will let this go.

"Captain needs you right now, Allison." Nat touches my hand gently. It was already swelling and I knew Ivan would ask questions when he saw it. I thought of my partner and wondered what he would think if I suddenly disappeared. I really want to get to know him better.

"And what about me?" I ask knowing I had to put myself first sometime in my life.

"You know I wouldn't be here if there wasn't another way." I knew it was true but it didn't make me feel any better. "Allison, you're the only one who can help him."

"I can't help Bucky." I reply quietly. The powers were taxing and brought all the wrong people right to me. The scars on my arms and legs were healed but the scars were still there. Ivan knows that they bother me so he doesn't say anything but I know he wants to ask how a girl like me got such horrific scars.

"You can't know that." Nat tells me and I shrug as my stop comes up. I sling my bag over my shoulder as I pull my scarf closer around my face. "Allison please." I shake my head not trusting myself to find the right words to tell her no. I don't look back as I head towards my ballet class. Today was not the day that I was going to let my classmates down. I was choosing myself for once and I thought that Nat would understand that more than anybody.

I could help Bucky but at what cost to my own sanity? The walls I would have to tear down in his mind would make mine start to crumble. I wouldn't have the strength to keep fortifying mine while doing what was necessary to rewrite Bucky's brain. I would be left defenseless to the nightmares that plague me. Sam would tell me to make the choice that would benefit me but he was on Captain's side in this battle so would he choose my side in this or his friends?

~*~*~*~*~*~

Hi everyone!  I'm going to write a short second book on what happens to Allison after she lives in Russia.  That means I'll be putting my second fan fiction on hold until I manage to come up with something.  Hope everyone likes the edited version of this chapter.  I didn't realize it was so short but I promise that the new book will start coming out within the next couple of days. Thanks again for all the reads.  I never imagined I would get 5K reads.  But now we're reaching 17.6K reads.  It's an honor to have all of you reading my book.  It's been a work in progress for a while now.  Hope you enjoyed!

Kayla