Viva La Bagalia

- - - - -

Bagalia wasn't exactly a popular holiday destination. Planes weren't packed with civilians looking to explore another mysterious part of the world. They weren't even featured anywhere on Trivago's website. That was enough for Ana's skepticism and hesitation to reach a whole new level. Rumor was that Bagalia, the Red Light Nation, was a dumping ground for all sorts of wicked people. High profile criminals were extradited there. Street level thugs ruled the suburbs. All sorts of gangs battled it out for territory in the hazardous city. The government was in ruins and no justice system was in place whatsoever.

In blunt terms, Bagalia was no place for anybody with a shred of morality.

So why would the universe's Sentinel take refuge there in the first place? Ana wasn't sure. She was anticipating the answer. She felt sick to her stomach as she trailed closer to the front desk inside Half Moon Bay Airport, located on the Pacific Coast of San Fransisco. Ana had to walk a few miles to make it to the airport. In that time, she was stuck in her mind, thinking. Something she didn't enjoy. She wouldn't stop going over the argument she had with Fury. Part of her felt betrayed, the other felt angry. It was a monumental secret that he hid from her for years. Ana saw Fury as a father figure, which made the entire situation worse. He helped her when she needed it most. He was always there for her. It was hard to process the fact that he was lying to her the whole time, especially when Ana would go to Fury about her life at home. It was no understatement that her foster family weren't exactly the friendliest people on Earth. At the time, Fury and Ana weren't aware that they were Hydra. It made sense when Ana found out. It made her need for a family grow.

Ana stood second in line at the mildly busy airport. Nothing but her bag of essentials by her side. She had turned her phone off to prevent Fury from tracking her. She knew that wouldn't stop him. He had other ways to find her, which is why she wanted to get on a plane stat. Ana wanted to go dark until she found Marcus, but before she could cut off contact entirely, she had to let Bucky know. She spotted a payphone on the way in, and made a mental note to use it. Ana sighed tiredly, stepping forward when the customer in front of her was called to a desk.

"Next!" A receptionist lifted her hand in the air as she stared at Ana to approach her.

Ana walked to the desk and slapped her credit card on the shiny surface. "Bagalia. One way, please." She spoke up, almost robotically.

The receptionist frowned with her red lips. "I'm sorry, hun, did you just say Bagalia?" She asked.

Ana nodded. "Yes. One way." She said again, hoping to speed the process up.

Taken aback by her request, the receptionist, Darla, began typing the destination in the computer. Ana watched as Darla's gaze switched between the monitor and her a couple of times. She didn't say anything. Darla reached for Ana's card and swiped it. Ana looked behind her, eyes narrowing. She thought she heard something. A voice. Her eyes flickered over the unfamiliar faces passing through the main terminal. When the eftpos machine Darla swiped Ana's card through beeped in refusal, Ana's head turned back to the front where she sent Darla a look.

Darla raised the card, and quietly said, "I'm sorry, your card is declined." She stated.

Ana shook her head. "That can't be. I just got it. Look, no flaky edges." She picked at the sides of the card that were still intact, showing Darla as if she couldn't already see how pristine the condition of the card was.

Darla lifted a shoulder in a half shrug, and asked, "Do you have any cash?"

Ana pulled out her painfully thin wallet and opened it up, finding nothing but a few loyalty cards for Ben and Jerry's and Subway. She pulled out the only form of money she had in a fifty dollar bill. Her shoulders deflated. That wasn't enough. Darla sent Ana an apologetic smile. "Maybe this is God's sign that you shouldn't be travelling to Bagalia." She suggested. Then, after looking left and right, Darla leaned in and whispered, "I heard a bomb went off in the city a few days ago. Completely outta nowhere. And there were after shocks too. Dozens of buildings were knocked down. You haven't seen it on the news because nobody cares about what's going on in Bagalia."

Ana had a hunch. A small one. Darla's little tale sparked interest within Ana. She pocketed her card and tapped the desk with her palm twice, sending Darla an expressionless smile.

"All more the reason to visit."

- - -

On her way to the ladies' bathroom, Ana noticed the overhead screens in the waiting room switch to a breaking news report. She slowed her pace to check out the six runaway teens wanted for murder in California. Ana frowned, wondering how they got into a mess that big at their age. Without knowing why, she memorised the names and faces of the Runaways, just incase she was fortunate enough to run into them. She then stopped completely when she read Nico Minoru. The young girl had the same last name and likeness of one Tina Minoru, a fellow Master of the Mystic Arts. Ana hadn't seen Tina in a long time, though she wasn't that close with her to know that she had a daughter.

Again, the voice. Ana turned. She tried to pinpoint it's exact location. Standing in the centre of the swarm of people bustling about around her, Ana's shoulders were bumped and bashed into. She tightened her hold on her bag's shoulder straps and closed her eyes, concentrating. Voices among voices. This was going to take a while. If only she could get everyone to shut up, that would be helpful. Sifting through hundreds of voices was beginning to give her a headache. Ana's eyes cracked open and she cradled her throbbing head, glaring at nothing in particular.

What a day. What a horrible day. Fed up with absolutely everything, Ana's fists balled so tight that the groves of her knuckles were predominantly seen. She spun on her heels and went to storm forward, only to be stopped by a stationary woman in her path.

Ana tilted her head, eyes widening. "Maria?"

Maria Hill uncrossed her arms and pointed at her earpiece. "Ana. Nick's in here, by the way."

The voice puzzle was solved. Ana had her suspicions. Of course it was Fury. "What are you doing here?" She asked Maria.

"I'm here to talk you out of going to Bagalia. Interested in hearing what I have to say?" Maria questioned. Her words didn't match her tone of voice. Ana would've guessed that Maria wasn't exactly here to talk about staying in America.

Ana folded her arms over her chest. "Not really, no. Are you guys behind my card not working?"

Maria reached into her pant pocket and pulled out a white envelope. "Yes. And as an apology for freezing your assets, Fury wanted me to give you this."

"This makes no sense. Why freeze my card then give me cash?" Ana asked, taking the money.

"Mostly because you had a couple hundred bucks in your savings account." Maria smirked softly. She didn't want to laugh at the situation. "You should consider cancelling your subscriptions if they're gonna cost you that much a month."

Ana relaxed a little and let herself breathe, dropping the hostility. "Netflix is cancelling all my favourite shows anyway." She muttered, giving Maria a thankful smile. She needed a win. "Thanks, Maria."

Maria nodded. Then, she removed the earpiece and placed her hands in her jacket pockets. Nick wouldn't hear what she had to say next. "Look, I know you're angry at him. But Fury's only ever thought about your wellbeing since he first met you. You're like family to him."

Ana's brows furrowed. "He kept a big part of me secret since the day we met." She corrected Maria. "He let me believe he was searching for my family when he was already sitting on the information for years. That hardly seems like he was concerned about my wellbeing. Thanks for the money, Mar. I'll send you a postcard."

Ana left without saying anything else. Maria was silent. She understood where Ana was coming from. It must've been difficult. She watched Ana as she cut the line and revisited Darla with the money for her flight. The receptionist supplied her with a ticket and sent her off with a concerned goodbye.

Maria pinched the bridge of her nose, and exhaled heavily.

"What a mess..."

- - -

Ana's flight to Bagalia was leaving in a few minutes. All that was left to do was call Bucky. With a few coins in her palm, Ana had her eyes on a man who had occupied the payphone for over twenty minutes. She eavesdropped, of course, wondering what kind of topic would take almost half an hour to discuss. She had scoffed when she heard the man and his wife debate on getting a new pool for the kids. Maybe it was because she hadn't been getting much sleep or the fact that her mind wouldn't keep quiet about meeting her father, but Ana stormed up to the man and rudely ended the call by pushing down on the silver flap repeatedly.

You might say Ana was a little irritated.

"Get an inflatable pool if your wife doesn't want to sacrifice her precious garden of tulips, for God's sake, Brian. Shouldn't take that long to figure out, dude." Ana retorted, shouldering him out of the way. Too shocked to reply, Brian stumbled away, clutching his briefcase to his chest. Ana pressed the phone to her ear and jabbed her head at him aggressively. Brian shrieked and covered his face with his briefcase, scurrying off to his flight.

Okay, more than a little irritated.

Ana sighed. What did she just do? "I am not an awesome person to be around right now." She mumbled as she punched in the number. The payphone rocked back and forth with the force of Ana's finger as she jabbed different numbers into the unit. "Stupid Fury and his stupid secrets..."

Ana rested her elbow on the top of the payphone and stared at the planes outside. The ringing stopped and she heard a muffled chuckle through the phone. Instantly, she felt calm. She exhaled, and closed her eyes. Bucky Barnes worked wonders without having to say a word.

"Bucky..." She whispered.

"Hey, Ana, are you okay?" Bucky questioned.

"I'm... fine. I just wanted to hear your voice. How are you? Have you been getting any sleep?"

"I'm alright. As for the sleeping part... well, it's a work in progress. Though the bad memories aren't getting me as often as usual. So that's a plus, I guess."

"It is." Ana smiled, "That's great. Steve and the others still with you?"

"They just left a few hours ago, said they had another lead on an arms deal they'd been tracking for a few months now. Chitauri tech again." Bucky informed her.

Ana trailed her hand down the side of her face. "Look, I know I said I'll be gone for a few days but something's come up, and it'll be a while before I see you again."

Bucky paused. "Do you want to talk about it? You sound a little spooked, Ana."

"Not over the phone." Ana said, "I feel like it should be done in person. But I promise, once I get this over with, if I get this over with... I will tell you everything." She pledged.

"As long as you know what you're doing and you're safe. Be careful, Ana. Come back to me in one piece."

"Flight one-nine-nine to Bagalia now boarding."

Ana looked up when she heard the female voice notify her of her flight. Her time with Bucky was up. She faced the payphone and closed her eyes, trying to picture him in her mind. She didn't want to admit how much she needed him at the moment.

"I will. Goodnight, Bucky."

"Goodnight, Ana."

Bucky looked at the phone once the call ended. He put the device down on the bedside drawer next to him and placed his chin on top of his closed fist. He sat at the edge of their bed and sighed softly, glancing over his shoulder at the empty space behind him. He was counting the days until he got to see her again. Now it was going to take a little while longer. As he went over their conversation, Bucky picked up on a few things. Ana's voice was very soft and low, telling him she wanted to hide any emotion she felt at that moment. She would pause before answering, like she was holding back on details. It worried him more than anything. And now Ana was heading over to Bagalia? Bucky knew what that place was. A modernised hell hole filled with all types of bad people. The country didn't allow extradition, meaning the Winter Soldier was sent in to finish a few jobs on behalf of Hydra on numerous occasions. Bucky had to go through a lot of trouble just to complete his missions.

Ana was capable of handling herself perfectly fine. Bucky knew this and he knew it well. But it didn't mean it let him breathe easier. The very thought of her being around people who were the worst in the business made his skin crawl. At this point, he didn't care what she was after in a place like Bagalia. All Bucky wanted was to be there just in case anything bad was to happen to Ana. And above all, he didn't want her to be alone.

Bucky's mind was set. He got up and headed for Shuri's lab. If he was going to meet Ana in Bagalia, he had to be prepared. He wasn't looking for any firearms or Vibranium gadgets that could do harm — although he wouldn't mind a few that could give him an advantage for specific situations. All he needed was an arm.

"I just hope she doesn't get mad..."

- - - - -

Hey everyone! Here's chapter one of part eight, let me know what you thought about it. Throughout this part, we'll see another side of Ana we haven't had a proper chance to see yet. She'll be impulsive, snappy, moody, cautious, punchy and kicky (you've definitely seen the punchy and kicky side tho) She's heading to a villain hide out after all. And what kind of villains reside in the Red Light Nation? You just wait and see, my friends, this part is gonna be loaded with comic characters and references!

Also, we get more Bucky! In these coming chapters, it's gonna be more of Bucky protecting Ana than the other way around. He'll be skeptical about a lot of things, he'll probably help Ana with all the punching and kicking too even though she doesn't want him to get back into that part of him so soon.

How 'bout that trailer? So not ready for it, but I'm excited all the same. I've watched and read Marvel since I was a kid, and I'd love to see how they tie up this part of their journey. I'm ready for more Clint. I missed him a lot in Infinity War and I'm really glad he's gonna have a bigger part in Endgame. Also, Carol at the end made my excitement double if that was even possible because that means we're getting an ultimate team of heroes to go up against Thanos and I'm so here for that!

Q- Which characters are you most excited to see in Avengers Endgame?