The Soulmate Initiative: Book 1

25. The search for a soulmate

LOCATION: CEMETERY

Fury arrives at her grave, where Stacey and Suzanne are standing together "So, you've experienced this sort of thing before." Stacey replies "You get used to it." "We've been data mining HYDRA's files. Looks like a lot of rats didn't go down with the ship. I'm headed to Europe tonight, wanted to ask if you'd come." "There's something I got to do first." "How about you, Wilson? Could use a woman with your abilities." "I'm more of a soldier than a spy." "Alright then." Fury holds out a hand for Suzanne, they shake. And then she extends her hand to Stacey as well "Anybody asks for me, tell them they can find me right here." She walks away and the pair head to the Avengers Tower, where Suzanne now has a floor, the walls red and the furniture dark brown wood or leather.

LOCATION: AVENGERS TOWER

Nian walks over to the table where dinner is being served, he has a file in his hand "I called in a few favours from Kiev." He opens the file to the front page and shows the team, it has a photograph of Johanna Barnes, frozen, along with a smaller one below of her in her Army uniform. Unfortunately, they can't find any additional information they can access at the moment, so they just have this one file to go off, however, there is a lot of information in it. They read through the file together, inside is a list of all assassinations the Winter Soldier has completed. It's a long list and there are some shocking names on there, including Howard and Maria Stark. The others comfort Ashley, she had been told they had been in a car accident, but even though there aren't details concerning the assassination in the file, she now knows it wasn't an accident. For a little while she is angry at Johanna, but comes to realise that she was being forced to do it, she was being controlled and who she should really be angry at, is HYDRA. Along with the others, Ashley agrees that they will find her and bring her home, after all, she is one of their soulmates and they're giving Lavina a chance, so why not Johanna.

LOCATION: SMITHSONIAN

Johanna is on the run from HYDRA, she has done some digging and lots of thinking about what the people on the helicarriers were saying. Some of her memories are slowly starting to return to her, she knows the woman from the helicarrier, she knows this. She recognises the last words she said to her and she remembers some of what HYDRA have put her through, but she doesn't remember much else.

She visits the Smithsonian, hearing they have loads of information on World War 2, which she now knows she was involved in. She listens and reads every bit of information she comes across, but what sparks the most in her brain, is when she comes across the Captain America exhibit. She sees a huge poster on a wall, Captain America, her and several other soldiers, all standing together. And when she spots just her face on a section, she pays it extra attention, reading through all the information they have on her, trying to understand if it is really her.