"Enough! Enough!", Rhodey yells. "I saw it, make her stop!"

He takes something from the table, a second later he holds a shield in his hands. Sam uses his wings to protect him, but I'm too far away to be safe too.

In this moment I realize what a real inferno is. Not a small fireplace. Not a little flame coming out of Kayla's fingertips.

A real inferno is as lightning as a dying star.

Everywhere around me, tables and chairs start to burn.

Thank Tony the doors close automatically. If not maybe the whole building would explode.

But it also means that we three - Sam, Rhodey and I - can't geht out of here.

Both of them are safe, protected by their shields - but for how long?

I can't see Kayla anymore, she just seems to be made of flames. Where she stood there is just a golden an red fire now.

My skin feels like it's burning,

I don't get enough air to breath.

Everything around me looks the same:
Red and golden.
Red and golden.
And my both friends somewhere in between.

The walls are completely covered by flames. I guess that's how it must feel to stand in the middle of the sun.

"Bucky! Bucky, get out of there!", I hear someone shouts. I can't understand who: It's too loud.

I try to run the side - that's where I saw Sam the last time - but new flames come out just in front of my feet.

I can't run away, so I turn back, try to see Kayla.

If I do nothing, Sam, Rhodey and maybe her too will die.

Next to me I see something. A dark circle. There is too much fire to see what it is, but I try my luck and pick it up.

It's a shield - not big enough to save me from the flames but better than nothing. It must be one of the prototypes, Tony used to collect here.

I take it front of my - and do the most stupid thing you can do when you are surrounded by fire: I run.

My skin melts, I'm sure about that.
My heart beats faster,
everything in me is set aflame.

But I don't stop, just run. I fight the fire like I could win.

Don't see, where I'm going.

Don't know, what I'm doing.

Don't hear, where my friends are.

Don't think about that I can and will die here.

Suddenly, some water comes out of a machine, next to the door. Again: Thanks Tony for this building.

The water isn't able to stop the flames, the fire is stronger, wilder, brighter, but it helps to cool down.

And then... I see her.

She's standing at the other side of the room. Her eyes are closed, not just her hands but her whole body is standing on fire. Her clothes burn too but it doesn't look like they're fading away.

It know that it's a really, really stupid idea, but it's our only chance of survival, so I do it: I take the shield in front of my head, jump over some flames, hide behind some tables, try to reach her.

I can see her contours now - she isn't just a red and golden light anymore. In her face I See so much pain, confusion and fear that one second I feel sorry for her.

But then I remember that she's gonna kill the only friend I have left.

I don't wanna hurt her, but I will if that's needed to safe Sam.

Now I'm next to her, the shield is the only thing between me and a woman who deserves the name "Phoenix" more than everyone else.

"Kayla, you must stop it!", I try to tell her, but she can't hear me.

I don't even know if Rhodey and Sam are alive anymore - I can't see and hear them - but I know that I have no choice.

Fear leads my hands, not my head. I sweated that this would never happen again because everything I do this my life gets worse, but I don't care anymore.

This isn't about living. It's about surviving.

"The Phoenix.", I hear Kaylas voice whispering like the flames would keep silence one moment to let their master speak. "I am the Phoenix."

The fire is getting bigger again. It takes, and it takes and it takes. I doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints, I realize when I hear someone screaming.

It's Sam. And he's feeling the same pain that I feel.

I know that - if I want to safe him and Rhodey - this is the moment I have to choose. Their life or ours?

It hurts, but the decision is clear.

I lay my left arm around Kayla's throat. This one time I'm thankful for the arm made of vibranium because it can't burn.
My body I cover with the shield.

"I'm sorry.", I whisper to Kayla when she doesn't can breath anymore, because I don't allow her to. "So sorry."

She falls down and I let her go.

I didn't kill her, but she will be asleep for many hours.

From one second to another, the fire disappears.

And the only things left in this room are her lifeless body, two shadows who must be Sam and Rhodey and ashes who cover the ground.

"So sorry.", I repeat when I see that my friends try to reach me.

I'm happy that they at least can run. That they aren't dead, that they weren't reached by the fire.

War machines shield and Falcons wings saved them.

My own shield falls down. The noise of steel hitting the ground is so loud in this new silence.

And it's so familiar too.

I look to the ground.

Red, white, blue and a star in the middle of the shield.

This wasn't a prototype.

It was Steve's shield. Steves shield protected me.

It saved my life.

***

I'm sitting next to her bed and don't know what to do.

She's still sleeping. Not in Tony's old labor anymore but in one of our prison rooms.

Sam and Rhodey are okay - some flames touched them but they have no wounds which hurt enough to stop them from working.

I also had luck. Not as much as my friends, but it's nothing important. Nothing that keeps me from visiting her.

Of course: She was trying to kill us, but I don't feel good for choking her. I would do it again to safe Falcon and War Machine, but... you know, I can't imagine that this was really her.

To be honest: I don't trust her. I just know her a few hours. So it's not about being naiv or trusting too much.

The truth why I don't believe that it was her is this: She had no reason to kill us.

If she had waited for the other Avengers to burn them too it would be a different situation. But why should she just kill three of us if she is able to set all of us aflame?

I stand up, walk trough the room.

Maybe I'm just thinking too much.
Maybe I just want her to be to be controlled by someone else because I want her to be more like me.
Because I need somebody to talk about this and who know how it feels.

I should go. Now. Before she wakes up and I have to decide if I angry about her or feel sorry.

I open the door, want to leave to room, when I hear something. A voice.

I turn around.

„Barnes?", Kayla whispers.

She looks horrible. Her eyes are open now and they look like they saw too much terrible things to see somethings else than nightmares when she closes them again.

„Kollins.", I say but I don't move away from the door. If it happens again we have to lock her away. I'm sorry about that but we don't want someone hurt.

„What... what happened?", she asks and tries to stand up but she falls down on the bed again.

I look at her. She isn't even able o sit. How should she control fire?

Slowly I close the door and take a step forward to her. Another one. Another one. Until I stand next to her bed again.

„Lay down.", I order. My voice is colder than I wanted it to be.

She does what I told her.

„I have a terrible headache.", she tries to make a joke. „Was I drunken?"

„No.", I explain and take a seat. „But on fire."

She looks at me as I have told her that I am an alien: Confused and shocked. Then she seems to understand. To remember.

Her eyes are wide open now, she wants to get away from me, but I hold her at her shoulder.

„Don't touch me!", she whispers. „Stay back!"

„I will not hurt you.", I tell her and smile a little. I know that this isn't easy to believe from the guy who choked you, but it is the truth. I will not hurt her if I have no reason to.

"That's not what I'm afraid of.", she says, with panic in her voice. "But maybe I will hurt you. I can't control it! You have to go, Barnes, you have to lock me away, you have to-"

"I don't have to do anything.", I explain. This fear was a long time my own. I know what it's like to be afraid of losing the control, killing the people around me.

I know all of this but still I don't know how to help her.

"It's okay.", I try to say something right but I know that she recognizes it as a lie.

"Nothing is okay!", she hisses. "I remember it. I remember what happened. Trying to kill three people a set a whole room on fire is not okay. Losing control is not okay. You be stoppable when someone knocks me out is not okay."

A short time of silence, then she gets up and I help her to sit down at the bed.

"Maybe Hydra was right to imprison me.", she whispers.

"Kayla.", I say, use her first name just as we would be friends. "That wasn't you."

"How can you know that? Maybe I am this monster, Bucky! Maybe that's what left of me after Hydras experiments."

She isn't crying or screaming. She just says what she thinks. If she wouldn't I could tell her that she's just desperate and excited but I know she isn't. She's just realistic.

"So why am I still alive?", I ask. "If you'd be a monster: Why didn't you kill me?"

"I tried to, remember?", she whispers. "I... the Phoenix told me that I'm alone in this room. I ignored the fact that you were there too. It was just like... letting go. I felt good, Bucky. Good."
I can hear in her voice that this is the fact she hates the most. That it felt good.

"The Phoenix?", I want to know. "I thought you were the Phoenix?"

This is easier terrain. She smiles a little and even if it doesn't look happy it's good to see.

"Well... maybe I lied.", she says. And then she starts to tell me her story.

***

"My father was one of Hydras scientists. Not the best one, but one. We lived in the shadows of S.H.I.E.L.D., every time hiding.

One day, my father came back home and his face was white as snow. He said that he did something wrong and that we have to run away.

It was to late for us, you know? I was six, I guess, maybe seven. I didn't unterstand what happened, when his 'friend from work' came and said he was a traitor.

They needed him, but he had to suffer for this, they told me. I tried to run, but they took me and locked me away in their prison.

I screamed and shouted but no one came to set me free.

At the end of the day then they brought me a little bottle. It was one of their experiments, they told me. Smoke that came out when they tried to set a part of the tesseract - a big blue cube they loosed long time ago - on fire. They said that I've just to inhale it then they will set my father free.

Of course I did what they wanted. First I didn't feel different but then fire started to came out of my hands. It wasn't much, but enough to burn this tattoo on my chest.

A phoenix.

A fire bird that built himself from nothing, from the ashes of a girl.

He grows every time I use too much of my powers.

The often tried to kill me and my dad. He died, but I always survived because the Phoenix protected me.

He's more than just an symbol, a tattoo.

He is the fire and I'm just his keeper.

He is the master and I'm just his servant.

I really don't know enough about him. But there is one thing I get from Hydra.

The reason why they locked me away is that they couldn't kill me.

But the reason why they feared me? I'm gonna tell you. Every time the symbol grew, became bigger and bigger they said that this is interesting. And that "Project Phoenix" cames nearer - whatever it is."

The first time since she started Kayla looks me in the eyes. There are no tears in hears, no desperation. Just fear.

I feel that I want to tell her nur story too.

What happens with me? I'm not that guy for talking about my past!

Because that's what feares me:

Being alone.

Being feared.

Being controlled by my own emotions.

I want to run, but I can't. I want to help her.

"So... what was Hydra afraid of?", I ask quietly, look her in the eyes too.

Kayla inhales loudly before she whispers:

"Nobody knows what will happen, when he touches my heart. Maybe I'll rise, maybe i'll die, maybe i'll kill him, maybe I'll lose my powers, maybe I'll become more powerful. And maybe I'll burn down the whole world just to see the flames."