Retribution ★ Avengers

I'll Always Protect You

Bucky sighed and placed his phone back on the mattress. He'd spent the last 45 minutes trying to call his family, but there was no answer from any of them, even Mason. Wanda's phone rang, but she would always send him to voicemail. Greyson wouldn't answer the phone either, nor would Miranda. Even a call from Marlena's phone remained ignored, and Bucky wasn't sure what the hell was going on. This worried him, not only because his children were in Greyson's care, but because it was unlike Wanda to ignore a call from him or Marlena. There was something going on, something he had no idea about.

Alena then walked into the room, fresh out of the shower. Her charade as Marlena was becoming very successful, or so she thought.

After leaving Steve as Marlena only days prior, Alena had gone down to the lobby of his apartment complex where Bucky was waiting. Wanda, Mason, and Sam had disappeared for some reason Alena wasn't too concerned with, and from there she pursued a new relationship with Bucky. He was thrilled, but given the information Wanda and Mason provided him with only minutes before leaving the complex, he remained apprehensive. He trusted Wanda when she told him the Marlena they knew was not the woman he'd been spending the last few days with, but at the same time he had no reason to believe she was someone else. Since then, the two had been staying at a hotel in the city as they wondered what their next step would be.

"Still nothing?" Alena questioned Bucky with a frown. She was more than aware of what he'd spent his time doing, and although she hated it, she couldn't exactly tell him that. Marlena would have been incredibly worried were she not able to get ahold of anyone, especially with her kids gone, so that was exactly what she would be—worried.

Bucky looked up at her and shook his head. "No one is answering the phone. Not Wanda, not Miranda, not Mason, not Greyson."

"Try calling Steve or Sam," Alena suggested.

"I don't wanna bother Steve," he said with a sigh. The situation regarding Steve and Marlena was what drove Bucky's apprehension. He knew how much Marlena loved Steve, and while the news of their relationship had originally left him in state of pain, there was absolutely no denying Marlena's love for Steve. It was because of that Bucky couldn't seem to understand why Marlena would ever leave Steve, even for him. Bucky went along with it, however, though he was incredibly careful about what happened between the two of them.

Alena headed over to sit down beside Bucky on the mattress. She laid her head down on his shoulder, not even bothering to worry about her damp hair. "I need to see the twins, Bucky."

"I know," Bucky breathed out. "I do, too."

"Why don't we go to the Tower?" Alena asked. "We'll see if we can't find Wanda and figure out what's going on."

Bucky pursed his lips and stood up. "Let's do it. No harm done anyway."

Bucky grabbed the keys from the bedside table before grabbing Alena's hand. The two of them made their way down the stairs and out the door. It wasn't long until Marlena's phone vibrated inside of Alena's pocket. She stopped and took the device out. There was a text from Wanda, one that made Alena furrow her brows in confusion. She unlocked the phone and read over the message:

Can you come to the Tower? Greyson
and Miranda had to bring the twins
home. Something's wrong with
Charlie and we're not too sure what it is.
We think it's her abilities. Please hurry.

Alena looked to Bucky, a feigned expression of worry on her face. "Something's wrong with Charlie," she told Bucky. "Wanda just texted me telling me to come to the Tower."