Soldiers (Completed) •Soldiers Series• Bucky Barnes/ Avengers Fanfiction

Chapter 20: New Assignment

I didn't know how many times I had told the others that I was fine. And the lie sounded more and more unconvincing with each time I said it. Then, it got to the point where they no longer asked. They would only throw worried and clouded glances at me, and I would pretend I did not see that.

I balled my hands and dug my nails into my palms. The pain did little to settle my panic, fear and frustration. Director Fury had disappeared elsewhere, leaving the Avengers in the meeting room. No one had said a word for a good old five minutes.

Tony was not alerted about the incident yet, and I was glad. He would have been all over the place, asking to place tests on me and make sure I was alright. Shaking my head, I put my elbow on the table and pressed a fist into my right temple. I squeezed my eyes shut, and behind my eyelids I could see the layers of galaxies, entwining with each other.

"Someone might have broken in," Steve attempted to come up with a reason. His previous joy of gaining Bucky's recognition was gone, replaced with grave and worries. His face was masked with a frown, and I hated myself for showing the others my weakness and insanity.

"Do you think it's Hydra?" Bruce asked sensibly. From across me, Bucky's body tensed up. I resisted the urge to sigh. All I wanted to do right now was to curl up in my bed and blank out.

"If it's Hydra," Natasha stated, her voice cold and distant, "Then we will make sure the bastards are not going to get to Lottie and Bucky."

Bucky watched the woman quietly, his expression torn between rage for Hydra and amusement for the Black Widow.

Although the others insisted that it was an intruder from Hydra, I could not get rid of the feeling that it was more than an assassin who was trying to kill me. In fact, it was much worse.

A familiar tug nagged at my stomach once more. My heart sank to my toes as I pinched my thigh silently. Please don't do this, I pleaded to myself. Blinking hard, I felt the heat raise within me. I inhaled deeply and my body began to settle with the sensation.

I was taking control of my body gradually, but my vision seeped with redness once more. When Director Fury walked into the room, the others turned to look at him. They were fortunately unaware of my eyes situation.

However, the Director's speech was paused by the sight of my eyes and my flushed cheeks. He set his eyebrows and put his hands on the table with an air of finality.

"We cannot find the intruder at the moment but we are working on it. Meanwhile, it would be great if Charlotte can explain the whole incident to us," His eye never left mine as he continued, "And your eyes."

I felt everybody's gaze on me. Right then, my emotions were all over the place. Frustrated, panicked, upset, you name it. I bit my tongue and muttered, "I'm not a monster."

Clint touched my arm with his elbow. The man's eyes were soft on me, "Hey. No one's ever said that. You're just going through puberty."

I chuckled and wiped my eyes hastily to dry the tears. "Nick," Bruce chimed in, "I think we should give Lottie a break. Maybe she can go have a lie down in my laboratory and maybe after that, we can have another meeting. I don't think any one of us would mind."

It was no doubt that the Avengers were on my side, but Director Fury stayed his ground. "This is about Shield's security. No one is going anyway before the situation is cleared."

Bucky was giving Fury a dark look. I exhaled, releasing my fists and leveled gaze with the Director. If my bloody red eyes were unsettling, then Fury did nothing to show his uneasiness.

"I heard a voice. So I thought someone was trying to attack me. I panicked, and so I attacked."

Steve nodded, and Natasha watched me closely with her hands on her knees. "A voice?" Fury repeated, "Female or male?"