One Of A Kind (Adopted by the Avengers)

Chapter 9

     Third POV

     Bucky was too focused on the little girl that was sitting on his lap to notice the many footsteps that were coming his way. When the others finally got there, they were in awe to see a little girl asleep in the crook of Bucky's neck. They were even more surprised to see that he was softly rubbing the girls back up and down, in a calming motion.

     "Who's the kid?" Quill asked, startling everyone out of their thoughts. What shocked them even more than Bucky, was the fact that Logan walked over to them and crouched down, gently shaking the small girls shoulders.

     She looked up groggily and turned around half way to look at the person who had disrupted her sleep, then bolted upright with an ecstatic look on her face.

     "Hey Pup." Logan smiled, the girl squealed happily and jumped from Bucky's arms straight into Logan's.

     "Wolvie!" She screamed in excitement.

     "Wolvie? Wolvie as in what Angel calls you?" Scott asked, causing the small girl to spin around and look at him, shrinking further into Logan's arms.

     "Why are the guards dressed up weird?" She whispered to the boys, who both chuckled slightly. "And why do they speak English?" She added.

     "Sweetie, we aren't guards. We're friends of your dad's and your brothers." Wanda spoke up, talking softly like she did before.

     "Bubby and daddy don't have friends. They don't even have names. They're like me." The small girl, that they all could now recognize as Angel, stated calmly. Almost too calmly for someone in her position.

      "How old are you doll?" Bucky asked, drawing her attention back to him.

     "I'm 'dis many silly." She smiled as she held up four fingers. So that was the year that she was transferred to Bucky's department.

     "Wow Pup. You're getting old." Logan teased. She turned around and stuck her tongue out at him.

     "I'm not nearly as old as you are Wolvie." She responded defensively. The others, on the other hand, were still too busy gawking over the once teenager that most of them had come to love.

     "Hahaha! Baby HYDRA turned herself into a baby!" Stark barked out in laughter, startling the poor girl so badly that she hid behind Bucky and Logan.

     "It's okay baby doll. He's just being an asshole." Bucky assured her, shooting a glare at the second Stark he had met.

     "Why can the HYDRA guard speak English?" She asked timidly. Bucky felt his heart break slightly for her. She was the kid that had gone through so much, and now she was right back where she started. 

     "They aren't HYDRA sweetheart. They're the good guys. There's the Avengers and part of the X-Men." Bucky responded.

     "What are those?" She asked, wide, innocent eyes.

     "The Avengers are a group of people that save the world," Bucky responded.

     "And the X-Men are a group of people with superpowers that try to help people. I'm a part of it pup." Logan added in.

     "Really? You're saving the world? Just like in the stories you always told me!" Angel giggled, forgetting all about the strangers lined up behind her, and threw her arms up as if making a point. 

     "Yes Pup, just like the stories I always told you." Logan stated lovingly.

     "C'mon Baby Doll. Let's get out of here." Bucky stated then got to his feet, scooping up the small toddler on the way up.

     "We'll stay here and continue working on the Milano. One of you give us your location so we can come visit and see how Angel is doing." Gamora spoke up for the Guardians.

     "Yeah, I'll get you that." Wanda stated, walking away with them to the Milano. Everybody watched them go, but were brought back to reality when the small girl held protectively in Bucky's arms yawned.

     "I tired Daddy." She whispered, nearly falling asleep again on his flesh shoulder.

     "Get some sleep Baby Doll. I'll wake you up when we get home." He explained, but then felt the toddler tense.

     "I don't wanna go home Daddy." She whispered dejectedly. "They hurt me there. I don' wanna be hurt anymore." She whimpered and everyone's hearts, yes even Starks, Captain and the assassins, broke a little for her. Those four knew their sympathy for her wouldn't last, but Natasha started questioning her motives towards the girl. 

     Now that the girl was small and was showing her emotions more, Natasha couldn't help but relate to her. Natasha had been raised in the Red Room, which seemed very similar to the way HYDRA had raised her.  Natasha knew Clint was thinking the same thing when the two exchanged glances, both looking regretful for how they had hurt the girl in her teenage years.

     Stark, however, was thinking about ways he could use her since she was now smaller and more susceptible. He could use her for some more experiments, he could see if he could find a way to extract information about HYDRA from her head. The only downside he found to that, would be that Bruce would never allow something like that.

     Bruce knew exactly what Tony had been thinking, and he had silently made a vow to himself not to let the poor girl be subjected to that again. He promised himself that he would keep an eye on both Tony and Angel, making sure that Tony didn't do something he would later regret.

     The twins were both thinking the same thing. They had the girl they thought of as their little sister back. In HYDRA, they had put Angel in with them for training with their powers, and the three had instantly clicked. Both the twins had vowed to protect the small girl. Now, they were planning on keeping that promise. Even if it meant from their own team.