Doll: A Bucky Barnes FanFiction

It Will Work

(AN: AY! I updated! I am so close to finishing this work, it's crazy! Thanks for sticking with it this far, and please drop some votes and comments, I always love your guys' feedback! Much love -Rach)

Elizabeth and Nat made their way down the stairs, with Nat leading the way to the kitchen. It was the same as always, only not as clean as it had once been. Elizabeth saw her brother leaning up against the counter, his eyes focusing on the huge garage, where none other than Professor Hulk was muttering to himself as he wrote on a notepad almost too small for his hands.

"Hey, Lizzie," Steve said, looking over as he heard them enter. "Banner said he needs some advice on the calculations, whenever you have a minute to help him."

"All I seem to have now is time, Steve," Lizzie said before passing him and heading out into the garage that was now littered with all the parts needed to perform his task. Lizzie was startled when Scott Lang's head peered out from behind a large van as she approached.

"Hey there, Rogers. Elizabeth-" Scott started, when Elizabeth motioned for him to take a deep breath.

"Lizzie, Scott. We've met before. You can stick with Lizzie," she said, a small smile crossing her face. "Thanks, by the way. For the whole airport thing," she said, heading towards Banner.

The two of them had never met in person before. Steve had mentioned that Professor Banner had experimented to have himself and Hulk fused together after the snap. As she approached, she heard Banner mumbling to himself as he poured over a few textbooks.

"Professor?" She asked, causing him to whirl around, his rather large body creating a slight breeze. Elizabeth almost laughed at the sight of the glasses that perched on his nose, looking almost comical.

"You must be Steve's sister, Doctor Rogers," Banner said, eyeing her. She was dressed in blue jeans and a black sweater, her hair tied back neatly in a ponytail. Elizabeth nodded at him.

"Call me Lizzie," she said, flashing him a smile as she approached to see what he was writing in his notebook.

"Well, Lizzie, here's what we're working with," Banner began to speak, telling her in detail about the mechanics of the quantum realm. Elizabeth's brain noted the important numbers and figures, focused on all his calculations, hoping that somehow her training in the medical and technology field would help her.

From the kitchen, Steve watched his sister begin to speak with Banner and he sighed.

"She's changed," Nat pointed out, noting the difference in her demeanor from the last time they had seen each other.

The last time that Steve had seen his sister had been months ago. Even though she had fallen in love with her new role as a coordinator at the children's home, some part of her seemed missing. She had been quiet and reserved, her poise almost slouched and indifferent to the things happening around her. Elizabeth always put on a brave face for all the children, but something wasn't quite right in her head, and when Steve had tried to bring it up with her, she had simply smiled and told him he was being silly.

"She's happy," Steve said.

He watched as Elizabeth seemed to laugh at something Banner said. Her back was straight and tall, her face almost shining with confidence.

"She's found hope again," Nat said. "Buck meant the world to her, and when she lost him and their child, she lost everything."

"I never understood that, Nat. She still had people, you know? She had us."

"Steve, listen to yourself," Nat sighed.

"No matter how much you love your sister, there has always been something you don't understand about her. All those years ago, you two had a normal life, and then she got messed up. They tortured the little Elizabeth from 1947 right out of her, and she was replaced with a new Elizabeth. The only person who has ever understood that fact was Bucky, so she always gravitated towards him. She leaned so heavily on him that when he disappeared, she fell down somewhere we could never reach her."