Lost

Chapter 5

Over the next several weeks, migraines and flashbacks had become common. Steve had been out on a mission, so he hadn't been able to draw up the sketch we needed to help find the men from my first flashback. Sleep was also becoming difficult since I had started having dreams and nightmares that often kept me awake until the early hours of the morning. One of the few lights in my life was Bucky; he was always so sweet and understanding, doing his best to distract or comfort me as needed; I could feel myself falling for him more and more every single day.

Wanda and Natasha had convinced me to go into the city with them for a girls day. We took one of the SUVs with dark tinted windows and a glossy black paint and made our way into the heart of the shopping district. For the first time since I woke up from the accident, I felt like a normal young woman spending the day with her friends, and not like some science experiment gone wrong.

As we entered another store an employee came rushing over, her too-high heels clicking on the polished tile floor as she smiled her clearly fake smile, sickly sweet voice assaulting our eardrums, "Good day ladies, welcome to Gloria's, my name is Kate, how may I be of service to you?". "Hi Kate, thank you very much, but we won't be requiring any help today, we'll be fine by ourselves," Nat answers with a sweet smile, though her tone clearly left no room for argument as she led the way further into the store and to the section that housed clothes for my age range.

After picking out clothes, Wanda led the way through shoes, accessories, and cosmetics. Finally, we made our way to the checkout, where Kate rung up the purchases, again with fake, simpering smiles and a voice so sweet that it would give anyone cavities.

On the way back, we decided to stop at a small Italian bistro for lunch. It was a family-owned business, with a cozy atmosphere and they treated everyone like family. We had hardly sat down when the owner hurried over to greet us, his name was Carlos, and he seemed to know the girls well. "I'll let Sofia know you are here and Julia will be over shortly to take your order." With that, he hurried away again. "I hope you like garlic, it goes into just about everything, except dessert," Wanda warns with a giggle.

The bell above the door chimes and I turn my head slightly to see three men dressed in black jeans and t-shirts with heavy leather jackets walk in and look around. As Carlos hurries to the door the one in front pulls a gun from the back of his jeans and points it straight at the older man. "Alright, I want everyone to put their possessions on the tables and lay down on the ground keeping your hands where I can see them!" his raspy voice rings out through the restaurant. Nat and Wanda quickly duck under the table to formulate a plan for taking them down but I remain in my seat.

I can feel a surge of power coursing through my veins as I look at the morons who thought it would be a good idea to rob an Avengers hangout. As if my body acts of its own accord, I stand up with an amused smirk and stride out to where they can see me. "You idiots picked the wrong people to mess with, now be good little robbers and lay down your weapons and surrender, because I really don't want to hurt you," I say in a sing-song voice.

"Oh, that's cute. Manhattan Barbie actually thinks she stands a chance. Maybe when we've gotten what we came for, we'll gift her to the boss. He has been saying how bored he is lately, he'll enjoy having a new plaything," at this, the three of them snicker like schoolboys looking at their dad's Playboy magazine.

"Have it your way, but don't say I didn't warn you," I shrug, smirk still firmly in place as I wave my hands. For a second nothing happens, then all at once, the gun in his hand falls apart, and judging by the clanging sounds of metal hitting the floor, so did the Tweedle Twins'. While they are still bewildered I jump and land a solid kick to the first one's abdomen and sending him flying backward, toppling the three together like bowling pins. Natasha and Wanda appear beside me; Nat makes quick work of cuffing the three of them together while Wanda works her magic on calming the minds of everyone else in the restaurant.

Once the police had arrived and apprehended the men we went back to our table, both women looking at me strangely. "What? Is there something on my face?" I ask before taking a sip of my drink that had just arrived. "How the hell did you do that? And why didn't you tell us that you could?" Wanda is the first to ask. "Because I didn't know until I did it? Seriously, it was like an out of body experience. Once I saw the guy pull the gun, it was like my body was on auto-pilot." I shrug, trying to look nonchalant, but inside I am freaking out. What the hell did I just do?! How did I do it? Would I be able to do it again? And most importantly, why did it feel like there were bugs crawling all over my skin when that guy mentioned his boss? One thing was certain though, once I found out who was behind everything, there would be hell to pay...