The Man My Father Always Talked About • A CAPTAIN AMERICA STORY

27

~27~

     Weeks had passed and Clara and Steve were closer than ever. They trained together sometimes, when he wasn't on a mission. One day Clara had decided to go to training, though Steve wasn't there. She walked out of her room in a pair of black leggings, a dark green tank top, and a pair of black tennis shoes. While making her way to the training room, she bumped into Sam, who was also one his way.

"So Steve says you have a mean uppercut," Sam said. "Should I be worried?"

Clara chuckled before nudging his arm. "Not if you can hit hard enough." She contemplated asking him something before finally giving in. "What else has he said?"

"Oh we're doing that now?" Sam teased. "Well, he said you're strong, brave, and never back down from a fight."

"All good words." Clara nodded, a small smile forming on her lips.

"He really likes you, you know?" Sam asked, the others coming into view as they stood in front of the training room.

"Yeah," she whispered, her lips still formed into a small smile. Natasha looked up to them and placed her hands on her hips.

"Okay, whose fighting who first?" Natasha asked.

"I want Stark." Wanda said, the tone of her voice making everyone look to her in worry. Wanda had hated Clara since the moment her brother died. She blamed Clara for all the loss in his life and the lives of her parents.

"I don't think..." Sam started.

"Fine." Clara said. Clara knew Wanda wanted to get to her. She knew that Wanda wanted to take her anger out in her, so she would let her, as long as she got a few hits in herself. Natasha gave Clara and uneasy before nodding opening the door to the training room where the two took their places on the mat. Before anyone could start the match and Clara could ignite her blasters, Wanda pushed Clara down with her magic. She got up, igniting her blaster and shot Wanda, which only made her angrier.
Wanda used her powers again to lift Clara up in the air. Clara shot at her through her magic, but it was no use. Wanda threw her through the air again before Clara used her blasters to steady herself.

"What going on?" Steve asked as he came up to the others. He had taken a break from finding Bucky to invite Clara out for lunch.

"Wanda and Clara are training." Vision answered. Steve's eyes widened as he looked at Natasha for clarification. She nodded and he quickly looked through the double sided glass of the room to see Wanda throwing Clara all over the place.

"She's going to kill her." Steve said worriedly before he tried to open the door. Natasha held him back and stopped him from doing so.

"She's safe," Natasha insisted, though she didn't believe all that well. When the two were close enough, they started hand to hand combat. Clara punched at Wanda, who dodged them, and Wanda punched at Clara, who also dodged a few of them. There were times when one of their fists collided with the other's face. Their arms collided, the two staring into each other's eyes.

"This is for killing my family." Wanda said, almost as a whisper. Clara's eyes widened as Wanda formed a huge red ball of energy and threw it at her, causing her to fly across the room, only to stop when her body collided with the wall. Her head and back hit the wall, causing her to pass out almost instantly from impact. As soon as she did it, Wanda regretted her actions. She was mad, but she never wanted to kill her.

Steve rushed to Clara's side, cradling her head in his arms. He checked her pulse. It was light. "Are you crazy?!" He yelled at Wanda. "You could have killed her!" Wanda stood frozen, still shocked at her actions. "C'mon Clar," he begged as he held her head in his arms. "Wake up Clar."

Steve finally picked her up and carried her to the infirmary. Natasha called Tony, who dropped everything and rushed back to the facility at the news of his sister's health. Wanda sat in her room, thinking about her actions. Clara had been nothing but nice to her and she almost killed her.

***

Tony and Steve sat in Clara's room as she laid unconscious. The sound of the heart monitor was the only noise. The doctors were unsure of her outcome due to the amount of energy that was pushed through her body by Wanda's powers and the hit to the head. "You know," Tony started, his head propped up by his arms as he sat by his sister's side. "she's always been obsessed with you." Tony said.

Steve leaned against the wall directly across from her bed, watching her as she slowly breathed in and out. When he didn't seem to react to Tony's statement, he continued to explain. "When she was younger," Tony turned to face Steve. "our dad would always tell us these stories of Captain America and how he helped create you. Of course I got bored with the constant stories, but Clara always listened. It was one of the only thing that kept her and dad connected. She would read all the books about you, hell, she even said the one day she'd be the one to get you out of the ice."

Steve sadly smirked and Tony sighed. "When our parents died, I wasn't the big brother I was supposed to be. I mean, I was for the first couple of days and the funeral, but after that, I was done. I drank, partied, smoked stuff I probably shouldn't have, and guess what? She was the one taking care of me. Thirteen and taking care of the only family she had left." Tony sarcastically laughed. "Hell, I'm pretty sure I told her once that I wish she was never born, and yet, there she was the next day with a fake smile on her face, helping me through my process of grieving." He leaned back in his chair and eyed Steve as he seemed confused at why he was telling him.

"You're probably wondering why I'm telling you this." Steve nodded and made eye contact with him. "Because I was never the hero she looked up to as a kid. I never saved the world from Nazis, I never fought crime in a spangly outfit, thank god..." he added before pointing his finger at Steve. "but you did. She always looked up to you. I guess where I'm going with this is...if she wakes up..."

"She will wake up Tony." Steve said.

"When she wakes up," Tony corrected. "Don't change her mind." Steve and Tony stared at each other before Steve nodded and looked back at Clara, his heart feeling like it weighed even more.