Winter's Sister

12

When I woke up, I was in what appeared to be a cell. My arm had been bandaged, and I was in different clothes. A blue jumpsuit. I shivered at what that meant.

"Ree, are you ok?" Wanda's voice asked.

I stood and looked around. She was sitting in the cell across from me, in a straight jacket. Clint, Sam, and Scott were also in cells around us.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," I answered. "You?"

"Angry, but not hurt," she replied.

Then, the door leading out of our cell area opened. Stark walked in, in an arm sling. Clint started clapping.

"The Futurist, gentlemen," he called. "The futurist is here! He sees all! He knows what's best for you, whether you like it or not."

"Give me a break, Barton," Stark said. "I didn't know they'd put you here."

Clint spit. "Yeah, well, you knew they'd put us somewhere, Tony."

"Yeah, but not some super-max floating ocean pokey," Stark admitted. "This place is for maniacs. This is a place for-"

"Criminals?" Clint suggested. "Criminals, Tony. Think that's the word you're looking for. Right? That didn't used to mean me. Or Sam, or Wanda, or Ree. But here we are."

"Because you broke the law," Stark said. "I didn't make you. You read it, you broke it. You're all grown up, you got a wife and kids. I don't understand you, why didn't you think of them before you chose the wrong side?"

Stark walked away, but Clint called to everyone else, "You gotta watch your back with this guy. There's a chance he's gonna break it."

"Hank Pym always said you never can trust a Stark," Scott said.

"Who are you?" Stark asked him.

"How's Rhodes," Sam questioned.

"They're flying him to Columbia Medical tomorrow, so fingers crossed," Stark replied. "What do you need? They feed you yet?"

"You're the good cop, now?" Sam retorted.

"I'm just the guy who needs to know where Steve went," Stark said.

"Well, you better go get a bad cop," Sam insisted, "because you're gonna have to go Mark Fuhrman on my *** to get information out of me."

"Well, I just knocked the A out of their AV, so we got about thirty seconds before they realize it's not their equipment," Stark compromised. He started explaining to Sam why he was wrong about my brother.

"I could've told you that," I said in annoyance.

"Cap is definitely off the reservation," Stark continued, ignoring me. "But he's about to need all the help he can get. We don't know each other very well. You don't have to-"

"Hey, it's all right," Sam interrupted. "Look, I'll tell you, but you have to go alone, and as a friend."

"Easy," Stark said.

As soon as Sam told where Steve and my brother had gone, Stark had left the room. It was just us and our cells again. I sighed.

"Anyone know any good jokes?" I asked. I got a range of looks, varying from extreme annoyance to a bit of amusement. But no one answered the question.

♤☆♤

We had been stuck in these stupid cells for at least a day or so. From where I stood, I could see Wanda was crying. But stuck behind glass and iron bars, I couldn't do anything about it. In frustration, I slashed my claws across the glass. To my surprise, it left a mark. A very obvious mark.

In seconds, armed guards had entered the room and burst into my cell. They pinned me to the ground, on my stomach.

"Leave her alone!" the others were yelling from the cells around mine. "Get off of her! She's a kid!"

The guards locked something cold and of familiar weight around my neck. A collar. I shivered as it brought back memories of Mr. Killicks. The guards pulled me to my feet, holding out my arms so that I couldn't scratch anyone. Secretary Ross stood before me.

"This is a shock collar," he explained snarkily. "You get to close to the glass. Zap! You try to scratch the walls. Zap! You do anything to make me think you can't be trusted, you get shocked. Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-yes," I stuttered. I yelped as the collar let out an electric shock. Afraid of the present, and somewhat lost in painful memories, I dropped my eyes to the floor and corrected, "Yes, sir."

Secretary Ross smirked and the guards left my cell. I leaned against the back wall, sinking to the floor. Tears were in my eyes. No one said a word.

Another day or so passed. I was cold, and huddled in the back corner of my cell, when someone cleared their throat. I looked up to see T'Challa, the king of Wakanda. I stood and faced him, but stayed back, remembering the collar around my neck.

"Your Highness," I greeted. "What brings you here? It's not exactly a popular hangout."

"Ms. Barnes," T'Challa addressed. "I am here because I owe you an apology. I wrongly accused your brother for the murder of my father. I let anger and vengeance consume me. And, maybe a little less in importance, I did punch you in the face. I am sorry, for everything."

"Apology accepted," I answered, giving a soft smile.

"Your brother is in Wakanda," T'Challa went on quietly. "As per his request, in about a week's time, he will be cryogenically frozen once more, until we can figure out how to undo what Hydra did. He will be under the protection of me and my country. He wished me to send you his love."

Upon hearing about my brother, I stepped forward a bit. Too far, as a shock emitted from the collar. I flinched and stepped back, raising a hand to graze over the collar. T'Challa watched me in concern.

"Too close to the glass," I muttered in explanation, folding my arms loosely across my chest.

T'Challa ran his fingers over the scratch I had made on the glass. "I am sorry, again. You may be a criminal to them, but you are a friend to all of Wakanda. We have withdrawn from the Accords."

"Thank you, for the message," I said. "If you would return my love to my brother, I would be forever grateful. And please, tell him that I am fine. I don't want him to worry."

T'Challa nodded in understanding. "He should be grateful to have a sister such as you," he replied, before leaving the cell area.

Only a couple weeks after the visit from T'Challa, Steve broke us out of the ocean jail. Now, we are on the run from the government. But hey, that's life now-a-days.