𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝙰𝚜𝚜𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚗

Chapter 14: Interrogation

(Bucky's P.O.V.)

Well, we're back on the helicarrier. In the interrogation room. Again.

Not everyone is here, though. Wanda is in the recovery room due to overworking her system. Her body ran itself down so much she went into a mild coma to regenerate itself. Vision hasn't left her side once. Peter has a pretty bad concussion from getting knocked in the head. Thor suffered a few burns from the lightning, but he shook it off like it was nothing. Bruce is back in the spare laboratory, he didn't really feel like being around everybody at once. Sam was pissed off that his wings got smashed, so him being the stubborn way he is, insisted on working on repairs for them back at his old apartment. He wasn't too happy with the assassin, and he even admitted that if he was ever given the chance to teach her a lesson, he wouldn't be able to contain himself. Therefore, Steve and I said he should probably take some time to cool off. Otherwise, everyone else was here.

Of course, despite her injuries, Nat had insisted on coming to the investigation. Her arm was bandaged up pretty good, but we all know that wouldn't stop her. She was too headstrong. Leaning against the table in the middle of the room was Steve, who sported some bruises on his arms but not much else. Thor's hammer was rested next to the super-soldier, but he was sitting in a chair on the other side of the table. Clint was sitting on the sofa on the far end of the room. The cuts on his cheeks from barely escaping the crashing building were unmistakable. Carol Danvers was standing next to the sofa with one foot propped up against the wall. Claire had pulled up a chair right in front of the mirrored glass, waiting for the interrogation to begin. She hadn't taken her eyes off the assassin since arriving in the room. She desperately wanted to know why the woman had called her Ferran, and why she hesitated to kill her.

The assassin was handcuffed to the table, her head down as she glared at the black snap-on bracelets that had been strapped onto her wrists. They were special handcuffs that drained away all powers from its host. Of course, they didn't fully disappear, the user still had their abilities. Just not when wearing the bracelets.

Tony sat in a rolling chair near the back of the room, his arms crossed in front of him like a kid pouting when they were told to go to the naughty corner.

"I hate her," He says so everyone can hear. "She tried to kill me." Claire looks away from the assassin for the first time in hours, turning back to glare at her father.

"Get in line." His eyebrows raise.

"Excuse me, young lady?"

"I'm sorry that this scary mutant lady powered down your suit." Her tone is extremely snarky. "I would have helped but I was too busy trying to save everyone else while being held at gunpoint." She then turns around and continues studying the woman as if nothing ever happened. Tony stays quiet but holds his hands up in surrender. I lean on the wooden trim of the window next to Claire and peer through along with her.

"By the way," I say quietly. "Thank you for saving me, Doll. I really owe you one." She shrugs.

"It's what we do." I leave her alone after that, noticing that she's definitely on edge after everything that happened today. Nat throws a small smile my way from the other end of the window and I return it. It doesn't last long, though.

"I should've known," I start. "That she was the processing project HYDRA was creating." I shake my head, all eyes on me now. "After HYDRA fell I didn't even think to consider that maybe they were still running the experiments."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Sargent," Carol reassures me. "No one could have seen this coming."

"But that's where you're wrong," I say with denial. "I've been so focused on keeping my time as the Winter Soldier locked away that I couldn't see through the cracks." Before she can answer, Fury opens the door. He has a file in his hands. It's big. He drops it on the table and eyes everyone in the room.

"Who wants to try first?"

Song that inspired this chapter: Still Counting - Volbeat