Return | Bucky Barnes x OC | (4)

Chapter 13- Too Late

2016- aboard the quinjet

Heather flicked the switch labelled "auto-pilot" without even having to look at the dashboard. She had memorised the layout, not just of the dash but of the entire quinjet. From reading all those manuals while the others risked their lives, she'd become quite the expert. She hopped out of the pilot's seat and went back to join the others.

They were all spaced out, each sat on their own. Steve was sat on one of the fold out seats, his knees were bent up to his ears. He just stared straight ahead, just thinking. Bucky was doing much the same except every now and again he'd look at a bundle of papers that he clutched tightly in his hands. Heather caught him flick his head back to gaze out of the small windows in the side of the jet. As if he'd suddenly see her coming back. There was little chance of Clara coming back to them now, while they were in the air. She'd need a miracle. Although, that sounded like something she could manage.

Instead of taking her chances with the two brooding men, Heather took a seat besides Emma. She, too, was in her own head, occupied by her own thoughts, but she looked the least threatening. Emma's fierce stare melted as Heather sat beside her. She even smiled slightly as she turned her face to watch as Heather sit beside her.

"So..." Heather began, not really knowing what she should be saying. She hadn't even said a single word to Emma since she'd arrived. "Sorry if this sounds blunt but-"

"Who am I?" Emma asked. Heather's brow frowned and she smiled awkwardly. Emma raised a smug eyebrow; she'd managed to guess correctly. "That seems to be the only thing anyone's asked me."

"Well, I'll ask something different." Heather quipped but Emma's expression remained unchanged. She still looked half annoyed and half smug. "What's going on?"

Emma chuckled, smiled and looked up, straight ahead.

"Are you sure that's not the same question with different wording?" She asked, the same smug tone in her voice. Heather shook her head lightly but now she thought about, she was hoping for more or less the same answer. Emma sighed, breathing deeply through her nose and smiling contentedly despite seeming frustrated with the question. She had such self control, Heather had to think of Clara.

"I'm afraid, Turner, that one's quite complicated." Emma answered, albeit confusingly. Heather nodded sympathetically. Everything she did now seemed to be complicated. Heather had, after all, just been capatpulted straight into Clara's life an expected to keep up. Then, Heather frowned.

"How did you know my surname?"

Neither herself, Steve or Bucky had referred to her as 'Turner' since Emma showed up. Heather wouldn't have been so surprised if Emma had called her by her first name, she seemed like a clever girl and would have picked up on the others calling her 'Heather'. But this...

"I...know through S.H.I.E.L.D." She said quickly, stumbling over her words. "I'm an agent." She explained. "They keep a record of other agents."

Heather nodded, that did make sense. Of course S.H.I.E.L.D would want to keep tabs on what their agents were up to and considering she was Clara's plus one on missions, they would know about her.

"They always refer to agents by their surname." Emma continued, "But never civilians though, which is a bit odd. It's always the first name and an initial."

"But I would be Heather T." Heather prompted, finishing the thought, "They wouldn't have put Turner."

Emma froze for a second. Heather was just a civilian? She wasn't an agent yet? But that doesn't make any sense!

"I must have got it the wrong way round." She lied. Heather didn't look convinced but before she could challenger the answer, Emma continued, "I know this is going to sound really weird but I got to ask: what year is it?"

Heather frowned. Emma mentally cursed herself, this was not helping her cover.

"I've been undercover, didn't really keep tabs on the world." Emma lied, again. She'd never remember all these lies when she next needed them. But for now, Heather looked convinced.

"2016." She answered simply, no further questions and no further reason for Emma to lie. But she wasn't satisfied.

"Shit." She mumbled, darted up and crossed the quinjet, stopping inches away from Steve. "It's 2016." She said. Steve raised his head and looked at her like she was on fire.

"Yeah." He said slowly, spelling it out like she was stupid. Emma rolled her eyes and huffed.

"I didn't know it was 2016!" She hissed, trying not to shout and gain everyone else's attention. "I thought I came back earlier. Everything's wrong. Heather's supposed to be- oh it doesn't matter! I'm in the wrong year!"

"What are you saying?" Steve asked cautiously, pieces of the puzzle had started forming in his head.

"I'm saying," Emma hissed, "I don't have much time left to find out what's going wrong. And I don't have much time left to fix it! Whatever happened to make me stop existing, is already happening."

Before Steve even had a chance to absorb everything Emma had just blurted, the quinjet lurched violently to the side. Emma lost her footing and skidded all the way to the other side of the jet, which was now horizontal. She picked herself up just in time to see Heather running to the cockpit, which was now vertical.

Heather grappled with the seat belt and drew it tight enough to keep her in one place, despite the 90 degree tilt.

"Some one's on our tail!" Heather called back having checked the radar. There was a red blip getting closer and closer, "And they're not playing friendly!" Heather shouted over her shoulder just as the quinjet lurched again, this time in the opposite direction. Luckily, the jet righted itself. "This wasn't covered in the manual."

Steve cursed. With everything that had happened with Clara, he'd forgotten they were still 'wanted'.

"They're shooting and she's taken quite a hit." Heather called frantically now as she tried to regain control of the steering. "We're losing altitude! What do I do? Where do I go?"

For a moment, everyone was silent. Heather strained her neck to see around at everyone else. Emma was staring at Steve, she obviously hadn't known about this happening. There was only one plan in Steve's head, and it was risky, but it had to do.

"We regroup."