BERMUDA | B.BARNES (DISCONTINUED)

SIX | THANK YOU

Depth: Eighteen-thousand, six hundred feet below sea level.
Location: Avenger's Submarine.

The girl springs into a sitting position and presses her back against the couch, panting out of pure fear.

"Hey, hey, easy, we're not going to hurt you," Steve says, reaching out his hands in front of him to show he didn't have anything in them. Everyone else behind him followed his lead, allowing the girl to see their hands and not moving them.

"You're not with HYDRA anymore," Steve tells her in a soothing voice. "You're with a group called the Avengers. We're going to take care of you and get you fixed up. You don't have to be afraid of us." Steve speaks slowly, carefully. The girl stares at him, eyes wide with fear, like those of a frightened animal.

"Maybe she doesn't speak English," Natasha suggests carefully.

Steve turns back, looking at Bucky. "Wanna see if she speaks Russian?" he asks.

Bucky nods, and Steve indicates for him to step closer to the girl. He hesitantly does so, getting close to the couch and bending his knees to get on the girl's eye level. "Uh," he mumbles quietly, "а ты говоришь по русски?"

The girl gives him a look, sizing him up with her frightful eyes. She looks frantically from person-to-person, not knowing who to look at or what to do or think.

"Hey, can you speak?" Tony asks, his voice sounding impatient. Steve, along with everyone, ignores him.

"Look, I know you probably don't feel safe," Steve says, and the girl jerks her head to look at him, "but you are. You can talk to us, you don't have to be scared. We will keep you safe."

"Maybe the lady would like some space to get adjusted," Thor suggests, and Steve nods.

"You're probably right," he admits and stands back up to his full height. "If you need one of us, please come talk to us, okay?"

The girl looks down to the ground, still seeming confused and frightened. After a moment, she gives the slightest nod of her head and looks up to Steve. It is a start.

He gives her a soft smile before he and the rest of the Avengers depart into the back part of the submarine. Once there, Steve closes the door and sighs.

"Well, what do you guys think?" he asks, addressing the group.

Natasha exhales and is the first to speak up. "I think she's so used to being treated like nothing she doesn't know how to act otherwise," she says. "She's scared of us, and she has a right to be. She's been with HYDRA for God knows how long, so she obviously doesn't trust anyone, let alone a bunch of people who kidnapped her while she was asleep."

Steve nods in agreement. "Yeah, I know... But we have to find out what her story is, I mean, we've got basically nothing, we don't even know her name."

"Yeah, and she probably doesn't know it, either," Clint says. "Based on Barnes' experience alone, we can probably guess she doesn't know anything more about herself than we do."

Steve sighs and turns to Bucky, who looks pale and seems as if he's having trouble staying standing. Then, he remembers the gunshot wound.