The Daughter of Tony Stark

A World Divided; Chapter 10

 As I ran between Bucky and Steve to the hangar, Vision fired a blast above the entrance. The two men started to slow, but I sprinted forward. Wanda's red magic held the falling debris in place, and I was joined by the super-soldiers on the way to the aircraft. I heard Wanda scream in agony, and the building began to fall once more. A piece of metal scraped my shoulder. I felt myself flying in the air for a few moments to be caught in Bucky's arms. We both noticed that Steve faltered and looked up to see Natasha standing in front of the getaway plane, her stun gun held in her hand. Bucky put his metal arm protectively around me, and Steve proceeded forward with a hand outstretched.

"You're not going to stop?" Nat sighed as Steve advanced towards her.

"You know I can't," Steve replied.

"I'm going to regret this," I heard her mumble, and I cocked my head. "Go." Steve motioned for us to follow, and we ran to the aircraft. I heard her gun shoot once inside, and I looked behind me to see T'Challa being, well, stunned. As the plane flew out of the hangar. Instead of looking out the windows like I usually did, I sat in a corner, my head against the wall, and closed my eyes. After a few moments, Bucky broke the silence, thinking I was asleep.

"Steve," he asked, "is Isabel okay?"

"I don't think so," Steve said lightly. I could tell Barnes was worried from his breathing.

"When did you meet her? Was she okay? Was she... happy?"

"After a mission, we came back to find her waiting for us. Stark had hid her from us for how long, but she fit right in. It was like she had been friends with us her entire lives. There was a party later that night, and she walked by when Sam was asking about you. Able to take my mind off a few things so I could enjoy myself. She was so happy; smiling all the time and wanting the best for all of us."

"What happened?" Bucky's voice seemed a little choked, possibly about to shed a tear or two. I had to strain to hear.

"I had to call her from a vacation to our headquarters after a mission that went south," Steve explained. "Her sister wasn't doing well, and I thought Isabel could help. Then the Accords happened. She wanted to retire, but she got pulled into this mess. Then she found out Stark erased every memory she had."

"Maybe it was for the best," Bucky said. "HYDRA kidnapped her when she was eight; had her training like a real soldier. They even planned to hold her best friend hostage, but she was murdered in front of Isabel. I was sent in once to break Isabel in, but the other kids had gotten there first. She was a bleeding mess on the floor.

"Instead of what I was told to do, all the kids were severely damaged and I was punished for disobeying. Isabel was able to sneak in bandage me up, thanking me for saving her life. It took a few weeks, but she was able to pick up a few Romanian phrases so she could talk to me. We became inseparable, and HYDRA started sending us together on missions." Bucky paused. "They called her the Wave. Because of her age, she could approach the target, befriend them, and by midnight have them dead on the floor. I became backup."

"Do you know how she got her powers?" Steve asked. I opened an eye to see Barnes shake his head.

"All I know is that the same girl who could shoot a man without turning the other direction now had a new way to kill," he sighed. "Maybe Stark knew that and wanted her to live without those memories to haunt her." I turned my head way and closed my eyes, frowning slightly. That happy girl that Bucky described wanted to give Stark another chance. The girl who stayed up late at night to help him through PTSD. But then the girl I was now had no idea if all the good things I had done for him were fake. Manipulating had to be easier than erasing memories.