epiphany || bucky barnes

𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘

Sarah, as she always did, turned out to give me fantastic advice. In the short amount of time that we talked, I learned a lot. Not just about myself, but also about Bucky. And Pandora and the Soldier too, for that matter.

I had always felt as if I was never my own person. As if I had nothing else to give to this world besides a new issue to address. Turns out, I was all wrong about this. All wrong about myself. Truth be told, I never took the time to see my positive impact on the world. Sure, maybe everyone still decided to bring out the worst in me, but I've still done great things.

I was an inspiration for girls everywhere in ice skating. I fought with the Avengers against Thanos. I illustrated the art of perseverance, one that allowed me to keep sane for all this time.

Most of all, I learned to love. Even with everything that happened to me, everything that I've been through, I still feel love.

However, I can't take all the credit for this. After all, it was Bucky that held my hand through the entire process. It's him that taught me how to heal, even when I felt like I was at a dead end.

Pandora can no longer dictate my choices and my life. I won't let her inner voice crawl into my head and infect me with her poison. I refuse to give up and let her take over, and I refuse to ignore these sigils burned into my hands and the purple glow that emits from them.

In order to move on, I must remind myself of who I am. Of what my purpose is in this world. And most of all, how I got here in the first place.

This challenging life was given to me for a reason, and I won't stand down from it anymore.

Bring it on.

...

"Thank you, Sarah," I whispered, wrapping my arms around the other woman and hugging her tightly. "Your advice always knows how to help me."

Sarah chuckled and patted my back, "Oh please, honey. Anytime. Please come visit soon, I'm sure AJ and Cass would be happy to see you again."

"I'll make sure to call you guys soon. Stay safe." I smiled, patting her back before slowly standing. I grabbed my backpack off the ground, rolling my shoulders back as Bucky approached the dock.

"You ready to go?" He called, holding out a hand for me to take.

"Yes, sir." I grinned, taking his hand and walking off with him to the car. 

I pulled the handle, opening the passenger side door to the car. I threw my backpack full of belongings in the back, leaning against the cushioned seats. The warm sun that flooded through the windshield could make me fall asleep, the longer I laid here. But the obnoxious slamming of Bucky's drivers' side door shook these thoughts away.

"So, what did you and Sarah talk about?" He asked, starting the engine and pulling away from the shaded grove of trees and onto the rocky paved road. 

"A lot of things. Most importantly about the identity crisis I've been having with myself lately." I responded, looking down at my nails.

Bucky looked down, "With Pandora, huh?"

"What do you think?" I chuckled, sitting up in my seat and looking over at him. "To my complete surprise, she has no idea what's going on with my hands either..."

"Well, don't you think it's clear that it's some sort of power? I mean- I have no idea, the last person who had possession of the power stone was... your father."

My shoulders tensed at those words, and I glanced over at him. "So, your theory is that he used the Power stone on me when I was brainwashed? Unlikely."