The file shouldn’t exist.

That’s the first thing Tony Stark says when Bruce Banner pulls it up, his voice tight, brushing the edge of panic. “No origin timestamp. No creator signature. It just… appeared.”

The lab hums, sterile and bright, but the tension settles anyway. On the screen, code rewrites itself in real time. Adaptive. Watching.

“She’s not flagged as a threat to the team,” Bruce says quietly. Tony exhales. “You’re hesitating. I don’t like when you hesitate.” Bruce swallows. “She’s flagged as high-risk.”

A beat.

“Define high-risk.” Bruce doesn’t look away. “Risk to herself.”

Across the compound, you don’t know any of this. You stand in the kitchen, staring at a mug gone cold. You don’t remember making it. That’s been happening more lately. Small gaps. Missing seconds. Moments slipping before you realize you had them.

“Hey.” You look up. Sam Wilson leans in the doorway, posture easy, eyes not. “You gonna drink that,” he nods at the mug, “or just intimidate it?” You almost smile. “Working on it.” He studies you a second too long.

“Rough night?” You shrug. “Don’t remember enough of it to say.” That lands heavier than you meant.

Footsteps echo down the hall. Measured. Metallic. You don’t have to look to know it’s Bucky Barnes.

He pauses when he sees you. You feel it before you meet his eyes. That quiet pull. Recognition without context. “You okay?” he asks. Simple. You open your mouth—

—and the world glitches.

The kitchen flickers. Light bends wrong. Cold tile under your knees. Antiseptic in the air. A voice, calm and mechanical: “Subject unstable. Reset required.” Your breath catches.

Then you’re back. Kitchen. Mug. Sam watching. Bucky closer than before. Too close.

“Hey,” Bucky says, lower now. “Stay with me.” Your grip tightens. “I didn’t go anywhere.”

It doesn’t sound convincing.

Upstairs, Tony stares at the screen. “Tell me we can shut it down.” Bruce shakes his head. “It’s not just tracking her.”

“Then what is it doing?”

A pause. “It’s predicting her.”

A new line appears:

EPISODE LIKELIHOOD: INCREASING. INTERVENTION REQUIRED: IMMEDIATE.

Tony’s voice sharpens. “Get Barnes.”

Back in the kitchen, you meet Bucky’s eyes. There’s no suspicion there. No fear. Just something steady. Decided. “Whatever’s going on,” he says quietly, “you’re not dealing with it alone.”

You want to believe him. But something dark curls in the back of your mind, waiting. And the worst part? You don’t know if it’s going to hurt you— or if it already has.