The Mimic

7

Natasha wrapped an arm around Bruce for support, guiding him out of the destroyed lab. "Try and move her out of here, blowing up a lab probably isn't going to release the nicest chemicals." Tony instructed. He knew Steve and Wanda were more suited for the job than him, y/n was still on edge around him - probably too scared to mess anything up. It did upset Tony a little to see her on edge, but he couldn't help but struggle to trust the pair. He didn't want them to turn on him. After receiving a nod of agreement from Wanda and Steve, Tony followed Natasha and Bruce out of the lab. Hoping to get some more information out of Bruce, even though Bruce was as confused as the rest of them.

Steve begun to slowly step forward, pieces of broken glass crackling under his feet. Wanda followed closely behind, glancing up at the sparking lights every now and again. She was surprised by the amount of damage caused, whatever happened must've been serious. Steve frowned deeply at the sight of y/n as they stepped closer, she was shaking. Once they got close enough, Steve carefully reached out a hand, setting it on y/n's back in attempt to comfort her. "Hey-" Steve begun, but was quickly cut off.

 Y/n was sat on the bed, her knees against her chest and her hands over her ears. In her mind she was still in that memory, she could still smell the smoke, her ears were ringing from the explosion, it all felt so real. So when Steve set a hand on her back, she thought it was the man in the suit. Causing y/n to whip around to face him, fireballs danced in both of her palms, threatening to throw them. A look of anger evident on her face. But, as she turned around to face the man in the suit, she was snapped back into reality. Her eyes wide as she looked at a shocked-looking Steve and Wanda. Her angry look seemed to fall in to a face of sadness, the fireballs disappearing out of her palms. "The beeping. It- It made me remember something..." She whispered brokenly. Wanda and Steve were as confused as each other, but didn't show it. Wanda tilted her head a little, a look of sympathy plastered across her face. It was obvious it had shaken her up, but this was no place to talk about it. She didn't want anything else to set y/n off. "C'mon. Let's get you some fresh air shall we?" She asked, reaching out a hand for y/n to take. 

After a few moments, Wanda and Steve were guiding a shaken up y/n out of the lab and down the hallways of the compound. Y/n was leant in to Wanda, she was still pretty out of it, trying to process it all. Steve held open the doors for the pair, mostly just making sure that nobody would set y/n off again. Of course he wanted to be more involved, but Wanda would fill him in later. Bucky ended up being in the hallway they were walking down, curious of all the loud crashes. A look of concern appeared on his face at the sight of how broken y/n looked. Giving Steve a worried look, only to be met by Steve shaking his head. It wasn't the right time, y/n needed space. Bucky seemed to understand that. But, as they passed him he watched them walk for a little longer. He could relate to her the most when it came to memories coming back, but they weren't the type to confide in one another. 

Wanda ended up taking y/n up to the roof of the compound. It was quiet up there, out of the way and peaceful. She sighed quietly, letting y/n rest her head in her lap. "Do you wanna talk about it..?" She suggested, watching the peaceful scenery. Y/n seemed to hesitate, taking a few shaky breaths. She was happy just enjoying the scenery, she didn't want to bring it up again, but she knew she had to eventually. "It was about my parents." She whispered nervously, beginning to tense up again. "They were killed, and it was my fault." Wanda frowned deeply, glancing down at y/n, gently rubbing her side in a comforting way. "I doubt it was your fault, y/n.. You looked ready to fight someone when you saw us." Wanda hummed gently. But y/n just shook her head, tears beginning to fill her eyes as the vivid memory came back again. "I couldn't stop the bombs in time- It was all my fault." Y/n whispered brokenly, glancing up at Wanda with a sad smile. She was trying to smile so she wouldn't cry, but it didn't seem to be working. Wanda's frown continued to deepen, shaking her head as she wiped the tears from y/n's face. Trying to ignore the fact that both her and y/n's parents had been killed by bombs. 

Y/n didn't go in to any further detail than that, too scared that she'd be dragged back in to reliving the memory. Wanda was obviously curious about it, but she didn't want to push it. Especially with someone just getting their mind back, the events were probably as fresh as they were when it first happened.

Later that evening, the team was sat eating dinner in the kitchen. Tony had instructed them to try and cheer y/n up, without bringing up what happened, and it seemed to be working. Scott had decided to to play what he called the 'name game' with the team. A game where there's a theme such as animal names, and each person has to name an animal starting with a different letter of the alphabet. It started off slow, but soon became competitive. Y/n had sat out of the game, but she was still invested. As usual, an argument had broken out over something stupid. Thor had to name an animal beginning with the letter 'x', so he had decided to say 'xangaroo' which was an obviously made up word. Y/n was laughing along as Steve argued over it with Thor. "You can't make up an animal, Thor!" Steve exclaimed with a frown, taking the game pretty seriously. "How do you know it is made up? Back in Asgard, xangaroos are kept as family pets!" Thor argued back, obviously lying, but Steve didn't know any better, he'd never been to Asgard. He didn't know any animal that begun with the letter 'x', so instead of skipping it he just decided to make something up. Plus, it seemed to be making everyone else laugh. 

Bucky was sat opposite y/n, he'd joined in on the first few rounds of the game, but when it got competitive he stopped. Laughing along at all the petty arguments. But, he was currently just watching y/n. It was nice to see her smiling. They'd been through dark, dark things together, so seeing her smile was so nice. It helped him realise that they were free now. Even if they still had a long road ahead...