THE FADING FALLEN ● Bucky Barnes X OC ● 18+ ● ENGLISH [COMPLETE]

Chapter 1

∼⋄∼⋄∼ ○❖○ ∽⋄∽⋄∽

Bruce knocked on a door behind which music of the 30s or 40s was audible.

Emilia couldn't help but smile as she was reminded of how she once danced with her father across their favorite diner.

But her smile died instantly when she saw the images a week ago in her minds eye again. Her ears rang with the words of the airline employee.

The opening door snapped her out of thoughts. Someone appearing behind she only knew from the museum, her own research or the still fresh TV news. She was a little nervous, because meeting a man like him was not a daily occurrence.

Something else crept in between this uneasiness. Her impatience suddenly kicked in. For perhaps here she would get the answers to at least one thing she needed so desperately.

"Banner, good to see you." Steve stepped up to Bruce with a smirk and gave him a quick hug.

"Same here, Cap. Thanks for taking the time - especially after we all still have to recover from the Chitauri."

At the thought of the attack on New York, Steve's gaze darkened for a fleeting moment. Looking to Emilia, he smiled again. "Ms. Carson I presume? Nice to meet you."

He extended a hand to her and Emilia somewhat reluctantly returned the handshake: "Please call me Emilia, Captain Rogers."

"Steve will do just fine. Come on in."

Bruce followed her into the hallway and stopped a few steps inside. The door hadn't even fallen fully into lock, Emilia aleady was blurting out like a waterfall.

"What can you tell me about Hydra? The files of the intelligence services and S.H.I.E.L.D. don't get me anywhere. I need to know where they are!"

"Hydra?" Steve asked in amazement, still with one hand on the door handle, turning around. "Hydra doesn't exist anymore. And how do you get access to the S.H.I.E.L.D. files?" He looked questioningly from her to Bruce, who was trying to reassure her with a calming gesture: "Slow down, Emilia. I know you're looking for answers, but Cap doesn't quiet know why exactly we're here. I wasn't able to tell him everything yet."

"I know, Dr. Banner. But the more time we waste, the harder it's gonna be to find them."

With a raised eyebrow Steve walked past her into the adjacent living room. She turned to him. "I believe Hydra was involved in the attack on New York. They already controlled the Tesseract back then. I think their weird belief in mystic things was the real reason they brought the Chitauri here to pursue what they wanted. It's all Hydras fault!"

Steve looked skeptically at Emilia as he stopped in front of the flat coffee table and thought about what the upset young woman was saying. "Loki was. He let the Chitauri into our world using the scepter", he mentioned. "Everybody was able to see that. Why would Hydra have anything to do with it?"

"I've tried to make her understand that, too", Bruce said, standing next to him. "But she found information that made her think they still exist and operate."

"How did she get the information?"

Getting angry about Steve not addressing her directly, Emilia clenched her hands into fists. Neither of them seem believing her. "SHE knows very well how to get access to some things, Captain Rogers. And you of all people should be paying attention when it comes to Hydra!" 

Not noticing what was happening, she suddenly began to levitate with excitement, looking into astonished faces in front of her. "Banner...", Steve pressed out between his lips, not taking his eyes off her ground loosing feet, but turning his head a little.