Avengers x Reader // Just Different

Chapter 33

"Don't hesitate, (Y/N)," Madame B snarled. "Just shoot him."

The man squirmed and cried with a brown bag over his head, but he wouldn't be able to escape the chair he was tied to.

And you pulled the trigger.

He let out an agonized scream, but it was over quickly as redness oozed from the bag. 

Then, Madame B had you do it again.

This time, you could see the terror in their eyes. This was a fellow person with the SKH gene, but they had failed. The terror in their eyes made you want to end it quickly.

"This was a quick death. This was mercy. This is better than the alternative: testing," Madame B said.

But the scene all quickly shifted as you were put on a rolling bed into a place with needles.

The sterilization progress had begun.

The doctor slowly did it with no pain medicine, no nothing. You bit your lip down, knowing it wouldn't help even if you cried.

"STOP!" you screamed, thrashing. 

Your eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness of your room. You pushed yourself up, your sweaty back peeling off the damp and sweaty sheets.

It was just a dream. But you didn't want to go back to sleep. This was the third time you had woken up like this. You couldn't do it again.

You slid out of bed, putting on a pair of leggings and a tank top, throwing a sweatshirt over it. No one would be up at 2:00 AM. Maybe Tony.

Stepping out of the room, you found the halls dark and silent. Your bare feet pounded against the cold ground. 

You entered the lab, expecting to find Tony, but even he was sleeping. You must have drained them. Still, bubbling solutions and scraps of technology were everywhere.

Your eyes landed upon your corner of the lab. Surprise rippled through you. Tony didn't take it down?

You went through the invisible barrier, it flashing green as you stepped through.

"Starting off early, Ms. (Y/L/N)?"

JARVIS's voice rang through the room, causing you to have a mini heart-attack.

"No, JARVIS, just making sure nobody touched my stuff," you joked.

You froze in your steps when a green, glowing vial sat in the middle of the room.

The serum.

"JARVIS," said, your voice shaking. "Remind me to destroy this as soon as possible."

"It's on the list, but you realize the odds of destroying the serum, because of its complex chemical structure, are 10,000," Jarvis started.

"I don't want to hear it!" you yelled.

"- to one," JARVIS finished.

The silence was painful.

"Are you alright? You seem to be having an anxiety attack," JARVIS stated.

"What?" you asked.

But alas, as you looked at your hands, they were shaking and you could feel the nightmares coming back.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. I just need to go to the gym," you mumbled, walking out of the lab.

~~~~~~~~~~

"You know, if I were you, I would stop punching the bag. Your knuckles are bleeding."

Panting, you turned around, finding Bucky walking into the gym. 

You glanced at the clock. "It's 5:00 AM. What are you doing up?" you asked.

He raised his eyebrows. "You're up the same time as me. Same thing: working out."

You turned around, widening your eyes. The awkwardness in the room was unbeatable. Yes, you both at one point or another worked for HYDRA, but otherwise, you didn't really know anything else about the guy. Besides that, he was friends with Steve and he had a metal arm. That's all.

You were hoping that he was going to run on the treadmill or swim laps, but no. He came right up to the punch bag next to you.

"I know why you're really down here. I get them too," Bucky said, getting into a fighting stance.

"How long?"

"It's been a couple of years since I was done with HYDRA. They don't get any better."

"Thanks," you grumbled. How were you going to live with yourself?

"I know what you're thinking. That you shouldn't be with these people. How you've killed about 50 people..."

This guy was NOT helping.

"... but that's what the Avengers do. They save people. But at the same time, they're saving themselves. They have a purpose to fight. The only way I'm still here and fighting and trying to be better is because of this. If I strive to be better every day, it gives my life more of a purpose."

"But how did you get there?" you asked, wiping off your knuckles with a damp rag. 

"Honestly, I would offer to help you. But since I know you don't trust me very much and you don't know me super well, try talking to Steve. He really helped me. Well, they all did, but Steve especially. He's good at that stuff. He is America's Golden Boy," he smirked.

Tell him everything? Yes, you trusted him, but you didn't want to relive everything all over again. But if Bucky, someone who worked with HYDRA for years, was able to get his problems dealt with, then he was your only choice.

You sighed. "Thanks, Bucky. I'll talk to him at breakfast."

"Great. But you want to go shower first."

~~~~~~~~~~

Your wet hair dripped all over your sweatshirt, but you didn't want to be late for breakfast, so you didn't dry it.

"Steve!" you called, jogging over to him.

He smiled. "What's up? I think I said that right... is that people say right now? Millennials and Gen Z? Natasha has been trying to keep me up with all this crazy stuff. Tiktok? Instagram? Unbelievable," he said.

"You said that correctly. After breakfast, could I, um, talk to you?" you asked.

His face fell. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no, no. I just need to talk to you about something."

"Oh...okay. Just me?"

"Just you. Meet in my room in an hour?"

He nodded as Tony put food on the table.

"He's breakfast duty today?" you groaned. "What's for breakfast?"

"Probably burnt toast. Or cereal. And he complained about Wanda's cooking?" 

You grinned. Even though you hadn't told him anything about HYDRA or the Red Room yet, everything started to feel a little bit better. At least you had someone to talk to, now.

This was kind of a filler chapter. Also, sorry this is kind of a late update.

Thanks!