Winter's Daughter

Chapter Sixteen

Bucky's POV

It's been two hours since we arrived at the tower, and so far, we've heard nothing from Banner. I was worried, and I could tell Natasha was too. She was sitting in one of the chairs against the wall, her hands clasped with her head leaning into them, staring straight ahead.

When Steve had heard what happened, he came up to the medical floor to try and cheer us up.

"Hey guys," Steve says as he walks out of the elevator door. "How are you holding up?"

"Just peachy." Natasha deadpans. I give Steve a sympathetic smile. "We're okay, Steve. Just worried."

"Yea, I get it. Have you heard anything from Banner?" Steve asked.

I sigh. "No, not a thing. He won't even let us in."

He seemed slightly surprised, yet confused. "Huh, interesting. Hey, what exactly happened to Nadiya?"

I look over to Natasha to see if she wanted to answer this one, but she continued to stare at the wall. I turn back to Steve.

"I'm not too sure. Everything was going fine, but when she didn't come back from the bathroom, we got worried something happened. Natasha went to check on her, but she came running back to get me. When I came in Nadiya was on the bathroom floor clutching her head and crying. She couldn't move, Steve." I say as my voice chokes out the last part. I stop to regain my composure.

"She was in so much pain. When we got to the car, she went unconscious. I sped back to the tower and carried her in. I tried to go into the room with her and Banner, but he persisted I stay out. Even got Stark on his side."

"Do you think it could be H.Y.D.R.A?" Steve asked.

"Could be, I don't know." I let out a frustrated sigh.

"Natasha, you okay?" Steve asked as he looked at her with concerned eyes.

"Like I said, just peachy." She deadpanned once more. "Nat I —" Steve starts.

I put an arm on his shoulder. "I don't think right now is a good time for a council session, buddy."

Steve nods his head. "Right, of course."

Out of nowhere, Bruce comes into the room. For the first time in a while, Natasha becomes alert and stands right away.

"Any news?" She asks impatiently.

He sighs. "The good news is that Nadiya is stable as of right now, but still unconscious. We don't know when she's going to wake up though."

Bruce rubs the back of his neck. "The thing is, when she wakes up, Stark and I don't think she'll be the same."

"What do you mean?" I ask with anticipation.

"We think that once H.Y.D.R.A saw Nadiya out in the open and in range, they tapped into her brain. I don't know how, but they did something."

"We're being watched by H.Y.D.R.A. Fantastic." I said sarcastically.

"You're right." Stark said as he barged into the room. "We've been under their watch this whole time. And Greenie here is right, they did do some damage. Look at this."

Stark handed me a tablet. "They put a chip in her brain that sends electric currencies when triggered. It's almost like a 'memory wiper on the go'. I'm guessing when they figured out the wiping could be reversed, they made sure it would never happen again."

"She won't remember anything." Natasha whispers. "Everything we've works towards will be gone."

"Do you know anything else about her condition?" Steve asked.