It takes me no time to get down there. I move swiftly through the city, a tingle of excitement coursing through me, though just beneath the surface bubbles anxiety, what if this is the wrong choice? I try to focus on Roller's words: "If you fuck up, you deal with it."
Not like I'm going to try to. I can probably dial back the murder a little, for Mira's sake. But the biggest thing is still the answers I need for her.
When I reach the dock, I immediately spot Bucky, hood thrown over his head, hiding his face, off to the side in an alley behind a warehouse. I wonder if he knows it's actually one of my warehouses. Probably shouldn't mention that.
I walk over. A smile forms on his face as he lifts his head to see me. Without realizing it, a matching smile spreads across mine.
"You showed. Thought I'd have to come drag you," he says.
"I did show, but I can't go back with you yet," I reply.
His smile fades, replaced by a questioning look. "There's something I have to do first." I say.
He lets out a sigh, eyes shifting around, trying to hide irritation, I imagine. "What?"
"I have to go back to Siberia."
He's less than thrilled. "Why?!"
"I need to know more about what I am… and what Mira is becoming. To do that, I figure I better start at the beginning."
"That place is basically destroyed from…" he stops mid-sentence, clicking his teeth.
"From what? When you, Stark, and Steve went at it in there. I know. But if there's a chance something's left, I need to look."
He takes a moment, lips disappearing into a thin line, trying to find the right words to tell me I'm insane. He isn't wrong. I spent so much time trying to forget everything and get away from Hydra, and now I'm ready to charge back into the den for answers.
For Mira, I'd do it again. A thousand times even.
"Okay, I'll tell Sam I'm going to be longer," he says.
"What?!" I shout. "I didn't mean for you to come with me."
"Too bad. I'm coming," he says, pulling out his phone, dialing Sam.
"YAY, let's go!" a tiny voice shouts behind him as he presses the phone to his ear.
We both flip around, gob smacked to find our daughter standing there.
"What the hell, Bucky! You said you didn't bring her," I whisper-shout, eyes wide frozen on her, light blue jeans, purple t-shirt covered in flowers, little slip-on sneakers.
"I didn't," he murmurs.
I finally look at him and see his wide eyes of confusion matching mine. The other line picks up, and I hear Sam.
"She's fine, man. She's outside with the boys playing hide-and-seek."
"No, she isn't," he replies.
"Bucky, I can see the boys looking for her from the window. Your kids good at hiding," Sam says.
"Sam! She's standing in front of me!"
"Oh… your back?"
Bucky pinches his nose in frustration. I finally tune out the morons and go to hug Mira, lifting her into my arms. Who knew I could miss someone this much?
"Hi, Mom."
"Hi, baby," I whisper, burying my face in her hair, inhaling her scent.
I can hear Bucky's annoyed voice behind us as he and Sam bicker about how she got to Madripoor when he said she was in the backyard. Valid questions, but I ignore them.
I set her down, gently holding her shoulders. "Mira, how did you get here?"
"I don't know," she shrugs.
This time, I can't accept that response. I need more. "Okay, what's the last thing you remember before coming here?"
She ponders, lips puckered. "Um… I was playing hide-and-seek. I hid really well."
"Yeah, seems like you did," I chuckle.
"But I really wanted to see you and Dad. Then I heard your voice, but you were really far away. So, I closed my eyes to hear better… and then I was here," she says, nodding at the end.
Essentially, she just told me she wanted us and then got to us. Did she teleport? Is that even possible? None of the Avengers can, as far as I know. How could she have this power? I certainly can't.
Jesus. If I could do that all this time and never knew… I'm going to be really pissed at myself.
Bucky crouches beside me after slamming his phone shut.
"Well?" I ask.
"Sam didn't even know she was gone. He said he saw her hide behind a bush like four minutes ago."
"She teleported, I think," I say, voice tight, expression locked between denial and confusion.
His eyes widen. "Okay then."
"Why are you so calm about this?"
"Well… she did some other stuff while you were gone."
My head swivels to meet his. He scoops Mira up into his arms. "Come on. We've got a long way to Siberia. I'll tell you along the way."
"She isn't coming with us!" I yell, following behind him.
"We don't have a choice now."
I begrudgingly agree. This new little power of hers makes me certain we need to investigate her abilities.
Once we board a boat off Madripoor, he starts in on the stories. Mira quickly falls asleep in his arms, utterly exhausted.
Apparently, while I was gone, Bucky tried to give her carrot sticks one day, which she hates. When he turned back to the table, moments later, they're gone. She just told him she made them 'go away'.
Sometimes, he found her staring off into space for long periods. When he calls, she doesn't answer. Only when he shakes her does she come back, like she was gone for a moment.
He also swears things have moved while she's across the room, a book on the shelf one second, the next in her hands. Super soldiers can move fast, but not like that.
"Any theories?" I ask when he finishes.
"None. This is something I've never seen before. Some of it reminds me of a witch, Wanda. Steve introduced me to years ago. But stronger," he replies.
"So, you think our kid is a witch?" I ask hesitantly. "Wouldn't I need to be one?"
"I don't know how it works," he shrugs.
When we reach the shore, I head to one of my warehouses, which holds a few modes of transportation. We file into a helicopter. I let Bucky drive; he remembers the way better than I do.
Mira and I sit in the back. She bounces in her seat, excited, even though it's not her first time flying. She always loves it.
We ride in silence, lost in thought about what we could find and what she's becoming.
As we circle the landing pad for the facility, I pray we find answers inside, that returning to this hell will make it worth it.