"Alright, watch your heads. Steve, you especially."

"Never thought I'd ever hear anyone tell Steve to watch his head," Bucky muttered in response, ducking under one of the pipes above our heads.

I smiled as I lead the team down the staircase at the back of the house that went to the basement. Unlike the rest of the house, the basement was unfinished, and the same as it had been when the house was first built. So, there were exposed beams and pipes everywhere. It was really a craphole.

"Okay, here we are, gather around, everyone."

I stood in the center of the room, which was so tiny and narrow that we barely fit. Everyone looked at me like I was losing my mind. I sighed and smiled slightly.

"Alright don't move."

I wiggled past Sam and Clint, who were standing to the right of the staircase, moving multiple cardboard boxes out of my way as I went. There was a small closet under the stairs, covered in a light layer of dust.

"Don't tell me you've got a little wizard boy in there," Clint muttered.

"Lord of the Rings!" Steve cried in response.

Everyone turned and stared at him. His face fell as he realized his error.

"Well, at least you tried," Sam offered.

I sighed and turned back to the closet. There was a small hook on the door acting as a lock, and I quickly flicked it out of its place. The door creaked open, revealing an empty space. I crouched down and clambered inside, motioning for everyone else to follow me.

"You're not serious," Sam said, sticking his head into the closet.

I smirked and shook my head. "Oh but I am. Come on, everyone in."

Wanda was the first one in, bending down and pressing herself against the wall. She smiled comfortingly at me, and I smiled back. Clint and Sam clambered in next, followed by Scott and Bucky. A reluctant Steve brought up the rear. Scott stood right next to me, his elbow digging into my side.

"Alright, Steve if you could close that door, please," I paused as he shut the closet door and the room was plunged into darkness. "Everyone hold on."

I pressed my hand to the wall behind me, a hidden scanning pad instantly recognizing my handprint, and there was a loud whirring noise.

"Why do we needs hold o- OH MY GOD WE'RE MOVING," Clint yelled, and I heard him flattening himself against the wall.

The closet had indeed started moving. Of course, it wasn't really a closet. It was an elevator.

"Cara, what is this?!" Sam called, his voice slightly panicked.

"Oh my god what if she's really a psycho serial killer?" Scott spoke up this time. "She lured us all into a house in the middle of nowhere to MURDER US!"

"God, I feel like a sardine."

"Someone's hand is definitely on my leg!"

"STEVE, GET YO' HAND OFF MY DI-"

"Whoops, that's me, not Steve, sorry Sam," Clint's voice echoed sheepishly.

"Everyone shut up!" I snapped. "We should have some light right about....now. There!"

As I spoke, light from hidden lightbulbs in the floor lit up the room, and we could all see each other again. We were still moving down, and everyone aside from Wanda and Bucky looked extremely nervous. Scott stood beside me, way closer to me than we were both comfortable with. He noticed, eyes wide, and quickly tried to adjust so it was less awkward. In the process, he tried to step to the side of me with his hands by his shoulders and managed to completely grab my boob.

"Oh my god!" He was instantly mortified and all the color drained from his face. "Holy shit I'm sorry."

"It's fine, it's just an accident," I assured him, caught slightly off guard.

"Watch it, Lang," Bucky growled from behind Scott.

He jumped right out of his skin. "Oh my god, I-I am so sorry!"

"Scott, seriously it's no big deal."

The elevator stopped moving before Scott could respond, and the door opened. I pushed through my friends and led them out of the tiny space.

"Cara," Steve marveled as he stepped out, "what is this place?"

I turned around to face him and smiled slightly. "Welcome to the lab."

****

"This is insane."

"It was my dad's. Originally I mean. Obviously I had to renovate it, put in all new computers, restock it with the kinds of weapons and supplies the Avengers would require."

Everybody stood in front of me, gathered around a large surface that looked like a table, but was really a super-sized tablet. Behind me was a plethora of screens, all either programmed to different news channels across the world or security camera feed from around the house. In the rooms branched off of the one we stood in, there was an armory, a small training facility, a lab, an infirmary, and an emergency bunk. It was a condensed version of the Avengers compound. I looked around it as we stood there in silence, my friends soaking in what the stood at the center of.

As I looked around, my eyes slowly landed on the exposed brick wall directly across from me. The old SSR label was splashed across it in chipped white paint, it's eagle staring down at me harshly. I swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in my throat and looked back down, my eyes this time going to Bucky. He furrowed his eyebrows at me and mouthed something I couldn't decipher. I exhaled loudly and shook my head.

"So, while we're here, I have something very important to show you."

I walked out of the room and into the armory, returning quickly with several metal suitcases. After placing them on top of the table, I opened one.

"As you all know, we're fighting our friends. Our family. And I have no intention to kill my family," I said solemnly. "I don't think that any of you have that intention either."

They agreed silently. I nodded slowly and reached forward for the briefcase I had opened. I pulled out a small handgun and held it up for them to see.

"This is my solution."

Wanda furrowed her eyebrows at me. "A gun?"

"This is an ICER. It shoots and feels just like a normal gun, but its bullets don't kill. They stun. If we shoot anyone with one of these, they won't die, they'll just be knocked out for about an hour," I explained, handing it off to Bucky. "They come as small as this and as large as the guns SWAT uses."

He took it, holding it out skeptically. "When did you have time to make this?"

"I didn't."

"Then where the hell did you get them?"

I hesitated and looked at my feet. "I have a source that has been keeping me up to date on things happening lower down at SHIELD for years. Specifically, a few scientists that work under Co- a very good friend of mine, my source, actually. I wanted to bring them up to work with the Avengers by the end of this year, but, you know, things happened. Whenever my source sees things that he thinks I'll be interested in, he sends them to me and I bring them here."

"So you want us to use these from now on?"

I nodded. "And Clint, I had some arrows designed using the same technology. They're in the armory as well."

"Cara, how did you have all this together?" Steve asked after a moment of silence.

"I'm wondering the same thing," Clint added. "It's like you expected us to have to go into hiding."

I sighed and leaned forward. "Listen, I know this looks weird. But I swear, this is a really, really odd coincidence. This was all meant for the entire team, honestly. I was going to show it to Tony on his birthday. I was hoping that it would make him hate our father a little less..." My voice trailed off and I stared down at my hands. "But we have it, we have all of this. We need to take advantage of that."

Bucky put the ICER down and cleared his throat. "Can I ask who your source is?"

"I'd prefer if you didn't."

"I am anyway."

"It's an old friend."

"How do you know this old friend?"

"Work," I said sharply.

With each short response between Bucky and I, I could see everyone else getting more uncomfortable.

"And this 'friend' is just willing to give you all this?"

"Oh my god! You're not seriously implying what I think you are?!"

"Depends what you think I'm implying," Bucky replied coolly.

"Well it sounds like you're implying that I slept with him to get this stuff!"

"Uhhh, hey guys, let's go in another room!" Clint interrupted me and made a beeline for the armory, everyone else following suit.

I glared over at Bucky, who took a step closer to me.

"What the fuck was that?" I hissed, crossing my arms over my chest. "Can you stop trying to pick a fight every five minutes? What is the matter with you?"

"I'm sorry if hearing that some guy is giving my girlfriend free, expensive things makes me a little uneasy," he snapped.

"And you really think that I would do that, that I would fuck someone to get things that I could make myself?" I asked quietly. "Do you really think that little of me?"

Bucky's face fell and he shook his head adamantly. "No, no, Cara, of course not. You know that."

"Then don't treat me like you do."

"I'm sorry," he apologized quietly, taking my hand in his gently. "That was stupid, I'm sorry."

"You're right, it was stupid," I mumbled irritably.

The corners of his mouth flicked up as he pulled me in for a hug and I buried my face in the crook of his neck. There was a quiet cough from behind me, and I turned to see Scott standing there awkwardly.

"Hey, guys," he said nervously. "I hate to interrupt, I really do, but I just wanted to apologize again. Cara, I am so sorry, I just wanted to let you know that I would never ever purposefully grab you like that."

"Never?" I cried sarcastically. "Wow, Scott, I'm hurt."

"Well I mean not while you're in your current situation! Nor while I'm in mine! That would be inappropriate. I mean, you are a very beautiful woman and I would be uh, honored, and uh, Bucky, you're a lucky guy, cuz, I mean, WOW," he rambled as I did my best to not burst into laughter. "I mean, you're lucky to have each other. Ha ha ha-"

"Hey, tic-tac?" Bucky cut him off quickly.

"Yes, Bucky, uh, Mr. Barnes, uh, sir?"

"Shut up."

"Got it!" Scott wheezed. "Shutting up and walking away! Goodbye!"

****

Later that night we were all gathered in the kitchen, eating pizza and talking about how we should proceed from here on out. Other than the discussions about night watch schedules and possible movement, it all seemed eerily normal. Bucky and I stood at the island near the refrigerator, his arm wrapped securely around my shoulders. As Sam and Clint argued over exactly how large of a perimeter we needed to set up, I suddenly noticed that there was someone missing.

I knit my eyebrows together as my eyes landed on Wanda, who was sitting out on the back patio steps, her back to the windows.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," I muttered to Bucky.

He looked down at me and rose an eyebrow, "You okay?"

"Yeah," I nodded, grabbing two bottles of water from the refrigerator. "I'm gonna go talk to Wanda for a little while."

I started to walk away, but he reached out and took my hand softly.

"Hey," he whispered, pulling me into his side again and kissing me lightly. He squeezed my hip gently before speaking again. "I love you."

I smirked up at him. "I love you too."

He rubbed the small of my back encouragingly as I turned away from him and walked towards the patio.

Wanda sat there, leaning forward against her knees. As I got closer, I saw she was making a small stick float in front of her. She twirled it in the air a few times, hesitated, and suddenly formed a fist with one of her hands. The stick cracked in half.

"Hey," I said quietly, sitting down on the step next to her. "You okay?"

"Oh, hello." She looked over at me, slightly surprised. "Yes. I'm fine."

I handed her one of the water bottles. "I don't believe you."

"I don't know," she sighed, raking her hand through her hair. "This is all happening so quickly, I-I don't know."

"You know you can talk to me, right? We're the only women in this testosterone fueled shitshow, we've gotta stick together."

A smile flashed upon her face, but as quickly as it appeared, it was gone.

"Can I ask you a question?" She breathed after a few moments, her eyes growing misty.

I nodded and she exhaled shakily.

"How do you know if you...love....someone?" The words she spoke were almost inaudible.

I waited a few moments before answering her question, attempting to formulate a response that would make sense.

"Honestly," I said slowly, "I'm not really sure."

"How did you know? With Bucky, how did you know you were in love with him?"

"Well, I mean, have you seen his ass?" I quipped immediately.

Again she smiled quickly before returning to a look of despair. I stopped chuckling at my own joke and sighed.

"Like I said, I don't really know. I guess it just kind of dawned on me one day that he was the best thing in my life and that I couldn't live without him. It happened so quickly, but at the same time, it had been building for a while." I paused and looked over at her. "Are we talking about who I think we're talking about?"

I took her silence as a confirmation of my suspicions.

"I did bad things," she breathed after a moment, "to him, around him. How can I expect someone to love me when I do things like I have?"

"Wanda what you've done isn't your fault-"

"Stop saying that!" She snapped. Wanda stood up, her voice getting louder and angrier. "I wish all of you would stop saying that because it is me! You do not know the half of it! They do not want to tell you everything that happened while you were gone, and I know you do not know, so don't tell me that I am not to blame."

"Wanda," I said quietly, standing slowly and backing away slightly, "I need you to calm down, okay? I'm sorry, but you need to calm down."

A cloud of red energy surrounded Wanda, and she didn't even realize. Her eyes glowed angrily, and with each passing second I grew more nervous.

"You don't know me!" She yelled, "You don't know what it's like to be me!"

Suddenly, a potted plant that had been next to her flew right past my head and crashed into the house. I ducked quickly before turning back to her.

"You're right, Wanda, I don't know!" I cried. "But I know what it's like to feel like you're not in control of yourself!"

"Cara!"

I whipped around to see Bucky standing in the patio doorway, everybody else behind him. He looked terrified, and I could see that he was about three seconds away from running and pushing me inside.

"Go back inside!" I yelled at him. "Everything is fine!"

"Are you crazy?!" He cried. "Everything is not fine!"

I ignored them and turned back to Wanda, who was now crying silently, everything around her levitating.

"Wanda, listen to me. I know you're scared. You have to believe me, I know," I told her. "I know you're afraid of yourself, and I know it hurts that everybody is afraid of you."

I stood in front of her now, the cloud of energy beginning to engulf me as well. My body suddenly felt like I'd stepped right into Florida in the middle of a heat wave, and I could hear my heart pounding in my chest. Her eyes locked with mine, and I suddenly realized how terrified she looked.

"Tony was right. Vision was right. I-I'm dangerous, I can't control myself, I should be locked up!" Her voice wavered. "I can't be here, they were all right!"

"Listen to me!" I grabbed her shoulders tightly and screamed in her face. "They are not right! You are in control here, do you get that?! Don't let them be right, Wanda. Don't give them that satisfaction. Prove them wrong."

Wanda shuddered and slowly closed her eyes. The energy only seemed to grow more violent, and for a moment, I seriously thought we were about to die. I began to close my eyes as well. Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, it was over. Wanda collapsed with a loud, broken cry; I caught her. She sobbed incoherent apologies into my shirt, her entire body shaking.

"It's okay, you're fine, it's okay," I whispered shakily. "You're fine."

I turned slightly and looked back at the house. The boys looked terrified, helpless, uneasy, and a myriad of other emotions. I looked back to Wanda and exhaled slowly.

"It's okay. We're all going to be fine."

As the words left my mouth, I realized that I wasn't even sure I believed them anymore.