Winters War Phase 3: Some Kind of Monster

Chapter 14

Julia felt like the Jet hit something. Anxiety rose in her body, not knowing exactly what was happening.

"We have just reached our destination," she heard Hill announce.

A few seconds later, somebody took off Julia's blindfold. She had to blink a few times to sharpen her view, while she waited to be freed from the cuffs. She looked to her left and saw Sam and Natasha being freed as well. She rubbed her wrists as she stood up. The tailgate opened and a bright light appeared. It hurt her eyes so Julia held her hand over her face to clear her view and saw three silhouettes. Sam was the first to leave the Jet, followed by Natasha. Slowly, Julia took her first steps towards the three people as she saw them hugging.

Wanda was the first to notice her. Almost in slow-motion, they stepped towards each other. Wanda reached out her arms. With shaking hands Julia took Wanda's in her own. Then Wanda pulled her into a hug as they both started to cry.

"I'm so happy to see you," Wanda sobbed. "We were so worried about you."

Tears welled up in Julia's eyes when she heard Wanda saying they missed her but she didn't know what to say. Over Wanda's shoulder she saw Bruce walking up to them. Julia released Wanda and went to embrace Bruce. A few seconds later he released her and looked at her. His face creased with worry as he saw the weight she had lost, her pale skin and the dark circles under her eyes.

"My god," he whispered as he looked at her from top to toe. "What did they do to you?"

"Too much," Wanda answered, with a trembling voice.

Julia looked at her with pleading eyes as she knew Wanda had read her mind. Wanda just shook her head slightly at her as a promise not to share her traumas without her permission.

"You can find it all in here," Sam answered, as he gave Bruce Julia's file from SHIELD.

Bruce took the copy of the file in his hand.

"Thank you. I'll read this right away," he said. He glanced at Julia. "It's good to see you."

Then he left the group.

Julia looked over at Scott and wondered if she'd met him before. He walked up closer to her and gave her a little wave.

"Hi, I'm Scott. I'm new here," he introduced himself.

She smiled friendly at the new person.

"I'm Julia," she said shyly.

"Nice to meet you. I've heard great stories about you."

Scott's comment made Julia even more shy. Then they were interrupted by a growling sound in her stomach.

"You must be hungry. Come, let's eat," Natasha suggested.

"Before you get your food, I advise you not to leave this place," Hill announced from the tailgate. "We will be back within twenty-four hours. If anything happens, please contact us."

Julia nodded at her. Hill went back into the Jet and the tailgate closed. The jet started to rise outside the hangar. The Avengers ventured deeper into the compound, followed by Julia. Wanda looked over her shoulder into the forest. The strange feeling in her guts was still there.

Steve sat still at Bucky's side, waiting eagerly for him to wake up. He held Bucky's hand gently as he stared at his peaceful face. Bruce hadn't removed the breathing tube yet. He heard footsteps, looked up at the entrance, and saw Sam walking through the doorway.

"Julia's here," he said as he moved closer to Bucky's bed. "Safe and sound."

Steve sighed, relieved.

"But she looks, and is, very vulnerable," Sam added as he looked at Bucky.

"Where is she now?"

"In the kitchen area. She was hungry." A mournful expression covered Sam's face. "She looks emaciated, Steve. It's like HYDRA didn't feed her properly."

Steve felt sad, and looked back at Bucky.

"Can you stay with him? I want to see her," he asked.

"Sure."

Before they exchanged places, Steve gently squeezed Bucky's hand. With a pounding heart he left the room.

Julia's eyes widened as she saw how enormous the compound's kitchen area was. She made a slow circle around the room, gazing open-mouthed at the shiny appliances.

"This is huge," she said, amazed and took a seat on one of the barstools.

"Well, you kind of need this much space when you live here with seven people," Scott said. "What do you want to eat? We have leftover pancakes from this morning. I can bake some cinnamon rolls. We also have mango, watermelon and..."