The Mimic

2

Back at the compound, Bruce had everyone assembled in the meeting room after caring for injuries and wounds. Vision was sat beside Wanda, more focused on icing her wounds than anything else - despite Wanda swatting him away every five seconds. Tony walked in to the room with a water jug, setting it down on the table for people to freely pour themselves a drink - of course it wasn't his idea, but Pepper made him do it. "So, now that everyone's here, enlighten us, Bruce." Tony smiled, sitting down opposite Steve. Bruce hummed slightly, almost seeming excited by the idea of y/n. Pulling up several conspiracy posts and threads talking about y/n. "Well, y/n y/l/n is supposed to be a myth. As you can see here by all these theories." Bruce explained, motioning toward the screen. "Other than today, there has only been one sighting of her. And that was in Norway in 1964." Bruce pulled up the image, of course it was very blurry, but y/n could be seen standing on top of a roof, with what seemed to be fire coming out of her hands. "So she's an oldie like you, Rogers! You sure you don't know her?" Tony teased, pouring himself a glass of water. Steve rolled his eyes a little, shaking his head. "Never seen her before." He murmured, trying his hardest not to interrupt Bruce too much. Bruce shrugged a little, pulling up images of the fight today, and how they lined up with the theory. But, before Bruce could speak again, Tony spoke up. Not seeming to want to be in the meeting. "Well, she's a mimic. Y'know, monkey see, monkey do - but a bit more serious." He sighed, pulling out his phone to check for anything more interesting. Steve sighed in annoyance, reaching forward and taking Tony's phone from him. "Yeah, just a bit more serious, Tony. She blasted Wanda through a building, maybe it's best to listen." He said in a serious tone. Nodding back to Bruce as if to tell him to carry on speaking. Bruce nodded, glancing at Tony for a moment to check if he was going to speak up again. "Well, it seems that she can store these powers too. Which explains the fire, and the fact that she could still shoot webs whilst being nowhere near Peter. But, because she's usually so hidden, none of us know how she's going to react to all of this. Steve knows Bucky, and Bucky will probably remember Steve. But y/n has nobody." Bruce sighed, smiling a little as Wanda continued to swat Vision away. "She's been a shadow for... well nobody knows how long. Adjusting her to normal life won't be easy. But she could be a great asset to the team if we gain her trust. Both of them could." Bruce suggested with a slight shrug. Steve furrowed his eyebrows slightly, shaking his head. "Can we not use the word 'asset'? They've been assets for practically their whole lives. We're supposed to free them, not make them our own weapons." He sighed, earning a nod of approval from the rest of the team. It made sense. 

Several days passed, and it had been the longest y/n and Bucky had been without being brainwashed - and it was taking it's toll. Tony had made the decision to keep them in cells until he was sure they weren't a threat to the team - which of course was met with a lot of opposition, but Tony was the one that built the compound, and he didn't want it destroyed. 

"I can't close my eyes without seeing one of their faces... They begged for their lives and I still did it." Bucky murmured brokenly. He was sat on the edge of the bed in his cell, but the pillows and blankets were on the floor. Steve was stood in the doorway of the cell, leaning against the doorway as he watched his best friend. "That wasn't you, Buck. Your mind is free now, a place to start fresh." Steve said, trying to reassure the male, but he knew he was going to struggle with this for a long while. Bucky shook his head, glancing up at Steve with a broken look in his eyes. "What if I didn't want my mind to be freed? At least then I could sleep." He sighed, rubbing tiredly at his eyes. Steve frowned sadly, he hated seeing Bucky like this. "Hey, don't say that. You'll get through this, and I'll be here the whole time to help you."

Y/n was sat on her bed, her back pressed up against the cold metal wall, her knees against her chest.  She was completely lost in her head, her thoughts haunting her every move as she came to the realisation of all the damage she'd caused, all the lives she'd ended. Unlike Bucky, she had nobody to talk to, she didn't know anyone, she didn't even know herself. She couldn't sleep without seeing all of her victims, and her bed was way too soft, she was used to sleeping on the ground. She didn't know how to function, she hadn't been free from brainwashing for God knows how long, and all these memories and thoughts hit her like a train. Y/n stared at herself in the mirror on the wall opposite her, but there was no emotion on her face, nothing. Too lost in her own head. Wanda and Vision were stood on the outside of the cell, watching y/n through the two-way mirror. "She looks so broken." Wanda murmured sadly, leaning slightly in to Vision. "Are you sure I can't go in and talk to her? Steve gets to talk to Bucky, she needs someone too." She suggested, glancing up at Vision with hopeful eyes. But, Vision just shook his head with a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry, Wanda. But you can't. Y/n is unpredictable, she blasted you through a building, why do you want to help her?" Vision asked with a confused look in his eyes, he thought people would hold grudges against things like that. Wanda sighed a little, glancing back over at y/n as she shrugged. "I don't know, I just feel like she needs someone... And nobody else seems to want to get near to her." She murmured. "When I arrived here, I had nobody. But you all still worked hard for me to feel welcomed. Why can't we do the same for her?" Vision continued to shake his head, setting a hand on Wanda's back. "Because you were on our side. We're unsure about her..."