the room, the television providing the main source of light in the apartment. The hued light was offset by the soft fluorescent light that had been long forgotten in the hallway and the displays of appliances in the attached kitchen. She sat nestled into the corner of the small couch, legs folded under her and feet shoved into the cushions. Her vision blurred as her eyelids started to become heavy. She had been staring at the television screen for the past three hours, the soccer game providing no entertainment.

A number of things snapped her back into complete consciousness: the slight shift in the atmosphere, a blur in the peripheral of her vision, and the sound of shifting weight on the wooden floors. Ridding herself of her temporarily bleared vision, she blinked a few times while leaning over the arm of the couch. She felt the cold metal before she could properly look at him.

Bucky supported himself with his right hand, chest heaving as he attempted to catch his breath. The pillow his head had laid on was discarded in the action of waking up, his blanket falling from his legs. He stared at the wall, his mind reeling as he tried to ground himself in reality. It was a nightmare. Just a nightmare.

Iris lowered herself onto the hard floor, positioning herself between the disgruntled man and the couch. Her fingers worked their way up to where the vibranium harshly turned to flesh. She kept her hand on his shoulder, hoping her physical touch would ground him.

"It's okay," she spoke, her voice not even a whisper. "You're okay."

His breathing was beginning to return to a steady rate, his chest slowing as he inhaled and exhaled. She brought herself closer to him and laid her chin gently on his shoulder, continuing to whisper assurances in his ear.

He didn't have to speak for her to know what the nightmare had been about. The premise was the same, the mission being the only variant. She knew he appreciated her being there. She knew he was in pain. She knew.

His gaze faltered to his hands, both flesh and metal. He could practically see the blood that stained them, the red he could never wash away. Again, she knew.

Shifting her position, she had her left leg parallel to his, her right molded around his body. With his back partially against her chest, she used her right hand to rub his back while the left traveled down the length of his arm until the metal was intertwined with flesh. He hesitantly curled his digits around hers, finding a sense of peace in the contact.

"I know it feels like you're dying, James," she pressed her lips to his shoulder blade, tasting the salt of his sweat as she left a gentle kiss. "But you're finally beginning to live."

Bucky found a fragment of solace in his friend's words and grabbed onto it, refusing to let it go. Holding it close, he allowed his eyes to flutter shut once more. He didn't have to ask. She knew.

The woman sang softly in her native language, a language he definitely didn't understand. It was a lullaby that her mother used to sing to her when a young Iris refused to sleep. The words of her forgotten language lulled him into a temporary state of peace, one that would allow him to drift off once more.

Repositioning themselves, the pair laid down on the thin blanket the man had covering the floor. She continued to sing as she readjusted the top blanket over their bodies before settling her head next to his on the pillow. With her arms wrapped around his slightly curled frame, she protected him from the nightmares and the rest of the world. She protected him the same way he had protected her all those years ago.

closely behind the two men, she held her tongue. The two were bickering, a common pattern that had seemed to persevere through the years, even after being apart for a considerable amount of time.

Sam finally stopped walking turning to speak to Bucky's face. "Hey. This is what you're not gonna do. You're not gonna come here in your overextended life and tell me about my rights." He jabbed his finger for emphasis, "It's over Bucky."

The men began to discuss the Flag Smashers, ignoring the actions of Iris. Sam had already recruited her for the mission and debriefed her. It just so happened that Barnes had located Wilson and come to confront him about the shield. The woman had been hoping to keep her friend out of another fight. He had fought enough.

She wandered over to the wall, a poster of John Walker's smiling face staring back at her. His blue eyes seemed to mock her and his stupid grin rubbed salt in her wound. She snatched the glossy paper from the surface, tearing it in half during the process. The sound caught the attention of the two men who turned to look at her, eyebrows raised.

"Sorry," she apologized for interrupting their important conversation. "There's plenty of more in here. They won't miss this one." She balled up the poster and threw it on the ground, tempted to stomp it in a final act of retaliation. She didn't get the chance before Sam and Bucky began to bicker once more.

"What 'Big Three'?"

"The Big Three."

"What Big Three?"

Wilson was dumbfounded that the super soldier had no idea what he was talking about after the numerous battles they had fought. "Androids, aliens, and wizards."

Bucky shook his head, "That's not a thing."

"That's definitely a thing."

"No, it's not," Barnes punctuated each word as if it would allow him to win the argument.

"Every time we fight, we fight one of the three."

"So who are you fighting now, Gandalf?"

Wilson opened his mouth to retaliate but immediately hesitated, "How do you know about Gandalf?"

"I read The Hobbit," a small pause, "in 1937 when it first came out."

"Who is Gandalf?" Iris asked. Her question went ignored, her two friends too busy arguing with one another.

"There are no wizards."

"Iris!" Sam offered in rebuttal.

"I'm not a wizard," she said, putting her hands up in resignation, not wanting anything to do with the argument.

"Doctor Strange."

"Is a sorcerer."

"Aah!" Sam chuckled, holding his pointer finger up to stop Bucky from speaking anymore, "A sorcerer is a wizard without a hat." Bucky blinked a few times, looking over at the woman who simply shrugged. "Think about it. Right? I'm right. I just came up with that. It's crazy."

Sam became serious once more, "But that's not the point. These guys aren't magical. All right? They use brute force just like you, the incredibly annoying guy in front of me with the staring problem."

Wilson turned on his heel, beginning to walk towards the plane with an open cargo hull. He motioned for Iris to follow him and she did.

"I'm coming with you," Barnes insisted following suit.

The woman wanted to protest and tell her closest friend that it was a bad idea for him to accompany them. He was going through therapy and just started to show signs of what could possibly be considered a real improvement. If he went headfirst into another fight, he could be back at square one. She didn't have to talk, Sam did it for her.

"No, you're not."

Bucky did in fact end up in the plane sitting next to Iris and across from Sam.

the driver's side of a camouflage military jeep. Focusing on the screen of the laptop in her lap, she kept an eye on the live satellite feed, watching the men's backs from above. The earpiece she wore continually went off, their voices relaying over comms.

"Look at you. All stealthy." Sam chuckled, "A little time in Wakanda and you come out White Panther."

"It's actually White Wolf."

"Huh?" Sam verbalized her own thoughts as her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Shaking her head, she refocused, zooming in on the brick structure the two were in.

"All right, I'm inside. Therefore, way ahead of you. It's not great, but very doable." A pause. "Huh?" Another pause. "Hello. How are you?"

"Good. What did I miss? Nothing."

Their tones were dripping in sarcasm. Had she been there with them, she would have silenced them both. Their bickering was becoming annoying and she was quite surprised that none of the targets had heard them.

"All right, let's go."

"No, wait."

"I got a vibranium arm. I can take them."

"Iris can control the dead and I can fly. Who gives a shit? Wait."

"I don't see what I have to do with this," she spoke up only to be ignored once more by the two children who continued to fight.

"Let me see what Redwing sees. Let me see."

"All right," Barnes yielded in exasperation.

"Let's see what Redwing... Oh, look at that. How many people you see now? One, two... Oh, here it comes again." She heard Bucky sigh. "Four. Five."

"Will the two of you shut the fuck up and focus on the mission!" She snapped, jamming a key on the laptop in annoyance.

At the mention of a hostage, the pair of men took off after the two trucks that were driving away from the building. The government satellite she piggybacked off of gave her an aerial view of the events that unfolded. Barnes easily entered the first truck, disappearing into the back.

"They're stealing medicine. Vaccines."

Iris quickly jotted the information into a notebook, not knowing what would be useful for them to know later on. Any information they could gather this early in the operation would be useful.

"I found the hostage."

By the time she had finished filling half the page with observations and bullet points, Bucky was cursing into the comms. She had missed him flying from the back of the first truck into the windshield of the second.

Half a minute later, Barnes was detained by two people on top of the second truck while a third snapped Redwing in half. Half of the screen that had been playing the robot's feed went black on her laptop screen.

"I always wanted to do that."

A series of grunts could be heard in her ear before Bucky spoke once more, "Good of you to join the fight, Sam!" Wilson didn't get a chance to respond as he was thrown from one truck to another. "Doll, I'm gonna need backup!" Barnes told her.

She slammed the lid of the laptop, throwing it into the passenger seat. Switching gears, she slammed her foot on the gas pedal and sped onto the main road. The trees blurred around her as she continued to accelerate, weaving between cars and dodging incoming traffic. Spotting the two orange semis, she unbuckled her seat belt, preparing to make the jump as she rode on the right shoulder of the last truck.

She heard a helicopter whir overhead but had no time to contemplate it. Steadying the vehicle one last time, she leaped. The world around seemed to slow down as the distance between her and the truck closed. Nearly missing the back of the vehicle, her fingers managed to wrap around the metal pipes that were bolted to the back door.

Iris groaned as her body slammed into the solid surface, pain soaring through her. Finding her footing, she watched as the military jeep ran into the forest, hitting a tree. Wasting no more time, she shimmied up the back of the truck, finally standing on the roof along with several other people.

"Looks like you guys could use some help." It was John Walker in the flesh. His smirk was no longer just on glossy paper and she found herself wanting to mess up his perfect smile with her fist.

"They have help," she retorted.

Without another exchange of words, the three Avengers, the new Captain America, and his sidekick fought against the three Flag Smashers on the top of both trucks.

The brunette found herself aiding Falcon as he tried to fly into the air. Two Flag Smashers had managed to grab onto his ankles and despite his grunts, Wilson couldn't loosen their grip. She jumped from one speeding vehicle to the other, tackling one of Wilson's assailants as she landed. The two were sent rolling towards the edge of the truck, their momentum following through.

An arm managed to wrap around her body just as the two were about to tip over the edge. The Flag Smasher was sent flying into the road as Iris was steadied on the truck once more. Sam nodded at her, a mutual understanding between the two. While they weren't that close, they would have one another's back.

"Help Bucky!" She insisted, noticing her friend holding on for dear life at the bottom of the truck. Sam nodded, his wings extending once more so he could take flight.

Focusing once more on the fight that was happening atop the moving vehicles, Iris found herself left with John Walker and whoever his sidekick was. However, his sidekick was currently detained by the enemy.

"John, where you at man!"

As Walker was currently dealing with a Flag Smasher of his own, Iris was the man's only hope. Grabbing a knife from her tactical belt, she sent it sailing through the air. It found itself lodged in the assailant's arm. With a groan of pain, Walker's partner was let go.

"That was a mistake."

Before Iris could even find open her mouth to address the woman who wore a mask, she was sent flying into the road with one kick.

The horn of a car blared as she landed on top of it, the windshield cracking as it broke her fall. The sedan came to a complete stop, the woman catching her breath as it did so.

"Doll, you okay?" Bucky asked, a tone of worry underneath his steady voice.

"Considering the fact that I was just sent flying from a truck into a windshield, I would say I've been better," she answered, a short laugh responding to her over comms. "James, those were all super soldiers."

"We know."

once as the blue sedan came to a stop behind the three people. Before the sound interrupted them, the two men had been arguing about Isaiah Bradley. Sam, still angry with Bucky, turned around to address the two police officers that exited the vehicle. His anger made his tone clipped, disrespectful even.

"What's up, man?"

"Is there a problem here?" One of the officers asked, approaching the two men. Iris kept her distance, standing a few feet behind her friends, observing.

"No, we're just talking." Sam was clearly exasperated.

"We're fine," Bucky confirmed.

The cops began to circle the men, "Can I see your ID?"

"I don't have ID. Why?" Sam's eyes followed the uniformed men's every move, watching as they stalked around him.

"Man, seriously?" Bucky asked, his annoyance becoming apparent in his tone.

"Okay, sir, just calm down," the police officer on the left rested his hand on his holstered gun. His actions set Iris on edge. She was no longer just observing, not while her friend was blatantly being threatened.

"I am calm. What do you want? We're just talking."

People were beginning to linger on the sidewalk, their attention captured by the altercation.

"James," she spoke softly, trying to bring his attention to the growing crowd. She watched as one person fished a phone out of their pocket and aimed the camera at the five people standing in the middle of the street.

"Hey, hey. Look, is this guy bothering you?" The same police officer asked, implying something that wasn't there. His hand remained on his weapon, his words causing Sam to roll his eyes.

"No, he's not bothering me. Do you know who this is?" Bucky snapped.

"I suggest you take your hand off of your gun," Iris finally spoke loud enough for the four men to hear her. All eyes were on her, mainly focused on her fingertips that were slowly lighting up and the gray strings of energy threading between her fingers. "I don't take kindly to those who threaten my friends, especially when there are no valid grounds for doing so."

The taller officer that had been silent turned away from the three, whispering in his partner's ear, "Hey, these guys are Avengers."

Literal realization struck the partner, his eyes and mouth both opening widely, "Oh, God. I am so sorry, Mr. Wilson." He chuckled nervously as Sam looked away in displeasure, "I didn't recognize you without the goggles. I'm really, really sorry about this."

Another sedan pulled up with its sirens on, boxing the three Avengers into their position. The two police officers excused themselves, walking over to their own vehicle to handle the situation.

"I didn't... I didn't tell anybody because he had already been through enough," Bucky told Sam, his voice low. Sam could only shake his head in response.

The two officers approached the group once more, the same one speaking, "Mr. Barnes, there's a warrant out for your arrest."

The woman's ears began to ring, the conversation ensuing becoming distant chatter. Her vision bleared, the run-down suburbs becoming nothing but a flimsy film covering her eyes. She was dissociating, the world falling away from her.

She had seen her people slaughtered as a young girl. She had watched as she was ripped away from her mother's dying hands. She had been taken from her family. She had torn other people apart, killing those her master willed her to. Acting as Oblivion's proxy, she had laid waste to entire planets, leaving the broken families left to mourn. And when she had finally found her second family, those she fought side by side with on Earth, Oblivion had ripped them away from her too, just as he had done with her mother. She refused to allow what little family she had left to be taken from her.

Her existence was an infinite cycle of had, past tense. For the first time it was have, present tense, and she would be damned if she let anyone change that.

The distorted film refocused, her mind associating once more. Her eyes landed on Bucky - her family - who was being put in handcuffs.

"No." She said, her voice carrying itself through the air. "You're not taking him." Her boots loudly hit the asphalt as she closed the distance between herself and the men restraining her friend. "Let him go or I'll kill you without hesitation."

The officer's pupils dilated, fear running through him. He immediately began to perspire, beads of sweat collecting at his hairline and his hands becoming moist. He could feel his heart rate quicken, his mind freezing as he couldn't decide what to do or say.

"Doll," Bucky warned her, his cuffed hands grabbing one of her own. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise I'll be back in no time," he assured her, his facial features stoic but his eyes soft. "Besides, you don't want to waste your energy on these pathetic bastards."

He was subtly warning her, reminding her of her setback. If she actively used her powers and chose to kill the man, she would be draining herself of her life force. Each time she took a life, she would be taking part of her own.