Sentry – Chapters 4-6

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Chapter Four

Tony grudgingly admitted that he was going to have to stop for at least a few minutes. He needed to get the phone set up so he could make some calls. Plus, no matter how much he wanted to just keep driving, he had a moral obligation to anyone who might be a prisoner in that facility.

He’d heard a faint sound from the trunk a few minutes ago, so he was pretty sure Barnes was awake. His own hearing seemed more acute after whatever Hydra did to him, so he took a chance that Barnes might be able to hear him.

“Listen, I’m sorry to have stuck you back there like that, but I can’t really take the chance on you following your orders right now. But you should know that it’s not my intention to hurt you or allow you to be hurt.” He blew out a frustrated breath, reining in his emotions when he felt that funny humming under his skin again. “I know I should have left you there—that sure as hell would have been the smart thing to do—but I kept thinking how I could become you, and I wanted to help. So I’d really appreciate it if you wouldn’t do anything that would make me feel the need to punch you again. Because it seems like bad shit happens when I get upset and hit things.”

He hadn’t been expecting anything, so he wasn’t surprised when nothing happened. “Okay then. As long as we’re on the same page.”

There was a sign for a rest stop two miles ahead, and he decided to check it out to see if it was viable for a quick stop. Stopping on the side of the road was always an option, but that could draw the attention of state troopers, and he had no way of explaining literally anything that was going on in this car.

It was still about an hour before dawn when he pulled into the rest area. It was well lit and large, with only two cars but more than a dozen semis parked along one side. There was easy access back to the freeway, including two places where he could drive straight over the gravel median should the occasion warrant it.

He parked away from everyone else and got the phone set up as quickly as possible. He’d bought a pre-paid minutes card, but it still took longer than he wanted to get everything ready. While fiddling with the phone, he considered who exactly he was going to call. He absolutely had to call someone at Homeland to make sure they knew HELIOS hadn’t been compromised. Protocol said that his team would be locked down tighter than a sea turtle’s ass, considering what had happened. He needed to get them off high alert.

But he didn’t think Homeland was the right call to go after an organization like Hydra, equipped with super soldiers and who knew what else. SHIELD was the logical choice, but Tony was no dummy and, based on work he’d done on the QT for Nick Fury, he was damn sure that Hydra had infiltrated SHIELD.

There were segments of SHIELD he was pretty sure were okay…

With that thought in mind, he pulled back onto the highway and dialed Phil Coulson’s number. He’d met Coulson a half dozen times over the years, and he’d always had a good feeling about the man. Tony trusted his gut reaction because it was the best he had right now. He always strove to find proof for his conclusions, but sometimes that instinct was all he had to go on.

He got a disconnected message. Fucking great.

With some reluctance, he dialed another number Coulson had given him. He’d forced himself to memorize it years ago, but he was a little surprised at how easily it came to mind.

“Yeah,” a woman answered tersely.

“Is this Agent May?”

“And who is this?” she asked brusquely.

“I’m not really in a sharing mood if I can’t confirm who I’m speaking to.”

“We might be at an impasse then.”

He huffed. “Look, I’m trying to reach Phil Coulson, but the number I have for him is disconnected. He gave me this number as a backup.”

“Coulson is working on something urgent. And if he really gave you this number, then he told you what to say.”

Tony’s brow furrowed. Coulson hadn’t said anything about a passphrase or anything, and he could recall the conversation with surprising clarity. “All he told me was that if I was ever in a serious bind and couldn’t reach him, to call this number, and someone would send in the—”

“Cavalry. Yeah.” Her huff was quite audible. “This is Agent May. Now that I’ve confirmed my identity, who am I speaking to?”

“Are we on a secure line?”

“I don’t have any other kind.”

“Even from your boss?”

“I’m assuming you mean SHIELD and not Coulson, but either way, no one can hear this.”

“This is Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo with—”

“Agent DiNozzo, I’m glad you’re all right. Everyone has been looking for you. If you’ll give me your location, I can have a team dispatched. They can reach you anywhere in the continental US within an hour.”

Tony pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it for a second.

“Agent DiNozzo?” came faintly from the phone.

He put it back to his ear. “Who in the world is everyone? And why?”

“Homeland, the FBI, local police, SHIELD, me, even the Avengers.”

Well, shit. “You count yourself separate from SHIELD?”

“Coulson asked me to do this and report only to him.”

“You didn’t answer the why.”

“I can’t tell you what I don’t know. Now, where are you?”

“Okay, slow your roll. I’m not giving you my location. I need something different from you.”

“My only priority is to see you rescued and taken to Avengers Tower in New York—those are my orders.”

Tony nearly dropped the phone. “You know what, I don’t even want to know what that’s about. Just stop worrying about me for a second and focus on the bigger problem. SHIELD has a pest problem that goes by the name of Hydra.”

She sucked in a breath.

“My guess is your infestation is quite bad.”

“Hydra had you?”

“Mm-hm. I got out, but it was a make a break for it kind of situation. There are others being held captive. I’m sure they’re cutting their losses, so I’d greatly appreciate it if you’d agree to mobilize a team to take that facility.”

He could hear frantic typing in the background. “We’ll move on the facility, but I need something more about how you know we’ve got a Hydra problem. Because who I pick to go could be affected by your answer.”

“Everyone at the facility where I was held was reporting to some guy named von Strucker.”

She swore.

“Exactly. I’ve seen his name all over SHIELD reports. And I sincerely doubt he’s the only one.”

“No, there wouldn’t be only one. Give me whatever you’ve got on the facility where you were held. I’ve got a team on standby in case we got any intel on your location.”

“How…serendipitous.” He relayed everything he could remember about where the plant was located, surprised that he could backtrack his route. From the first street name he could recall, he was able to tell her how many turns and approximate distance before they came to the plant. He’d always had an exceptional memory but not that good, not good enough to recall exact turn-by-turn directions during a frenzied fight or flight situation.

“Okay, listen, I’m going to leave you with Coulson. He’s been listening in since you and I were doing the identity tap dance.”

Before he could even reply to that, Phil’s voice came over the line. “Damn, Tony, you scared ten years off me.”

Tony was more than a little perplexed by that reaction. “And hello to you too, Phil. I have to admit, this is making my senses practically itch. My first reaction is to chuck this phone right out the window because I’m not interested in being a houseguest of SHIELD.”

“Tony, I don’t know what you’re going through right now, but I can only imagine how little trust you have in anyone. But SHIELD is not my goal here. I just want to bring you in. If you let me help you, you’re coming straight to Avengers Tower in New York.”

“Why the hell would I go to Avengers Tower?” Not that it didn’t seem like a better option than many of the other things he’d considered. “You know what? Let’s put a pause on that question because I need to ask you something. Based on your answer, I’ll either be disposing of this phone post-haste, or we can revisit the trip to New York.”

“Go ahead.”

“You do get that Hydra didn’t leave me…the same.”

“They experimented on you?”

“You could say that.”

“And you’re all right?”

“I’m not sure I’d put it that way, but well enough.”

“What’s your concern?”

“I’m not…like I was. And isn’t it your job to get me into SHIELD in this kind of situation?”

“Tony, there are other people who can help you besides SHIELD. And considering our pest problem, I wouldn’t take you there no matter what. I don’t know if this helps, but I know what you actually do, Assistant Director.”

Tony sucked in a breath.

“I’ve known since you got the job. And I never told Fury even though he’s been desperate to find out who you were.”

“Why would you do that?”

“It’s a long story, and I promise I’ll answer any question you want. I’ll even tell you things that would piss my boss off if it makes you happy but, right now, I’m worried about you being out there because I assume Hydra wants you back.”

“In the most desperate way, I’m sure. Especially since I took something of theirs.”

There was a pause. “What did you do?”

“Well…it may put a wrinkle in your plans.”

“Tony.”

“What would you say if I said that, against all the odds, James Buchanan Barnes was there?”

There was a sputtering sound as Phil totally lost his cool. “The Bucky Barnes? Howling Commandos Barnes? Are you serious?”

“I have a finely-honed sense of humor, Phil, so I know this isn’t the time for that kind of joke.”

“Bucky Barnes was being held by Hydra.” He blew out a breath. “Well, that’s…unexpected.”

“I’ve always found your sang froid to be impressive.”

He snorted. “That’s me. Impressive. Was Barnes a prisoner? Is he all right?”

“Not exactly on either count. He’s something of a super soldier and, uh, he was working for them. But that was on account of what sounds like an epic amount of torture, brainwashing, and memory erasure.”

“Oh.”

“Right. I stupidly was relating to the guy since they had that whole horrible mystery tour planned for me, so I took him with me when I busted out.”

“You took a Hydra super soldier with you,” he repeated.

“I may have knocked him out first.”

“If he’s a super soldier, he’s not going to stay out for long, Tony. Is he a threat to you? Are you in danger now?”

“Uh… I sort of wrapped him in rebar and threw him in the trunk.”

“You wrapped him in rebar.”

“I guess it was more like steel rods. The factory sitting on top of the facility did some sort of metal stamping.”

“Tony, that really wasn’t the part that caught my attention.” Phil sighed. “Look, if I’m gonna drag Tony Stark out of bed to come get you, I’d really like to know that you’re not going to make it hard to find you.”

“You’re going to send Iron Man after me? Gee, Phil, I’m touched.”

“Is that a yes?”

“Yeah, go ahead and track this phone. But, since you threw it out there, the first thing I see had better be red and gold. Things haven’t gone well when I get upset, so don’t spring any surprises on me.”

There was a long pause. “Tony, do we have a Hulk sort of situation on our hands?”

“Not in any way that you mean. There are just some, uh, side effects that seem to be harder to manage when my emotions are high.”

“Right. Okay, then.” Phil huffed a little. “Jarvis tells me you’re only a few minutes away for Stark. Hell, you’re not even two hours away by car, so we’ll see you very soon.”

“Gotcha.” Tony felt some of his tension drain away. Putting this much trust in a SHIELD agent was dumb, but it wasn’t the dumbest thing he’d done today. Besides, his instincts said Phil was on the level. “And Phil?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome, Tony.

He hung up and immediately dialed another number. If Stark could get here that fast, there was no risk in getting in touch with work. And they needed to know he was okay. He had no idea if Phil would have tried to veto that decision, but it wasn’t Phil’s call to make, so he hadn’t brought it up.

“Morrow,” was barked tersely as Tom answered the phone.

“Good morning, sir, sorry to wake you.”

There was a pause and deep breath. “DiNozzo. Where are you?”

“I just escaped from some mad scientists’ laboratory, and I’m on my way to meet up with some help.”

“Tell me where you are.”

“Respectfully, sir, I can’t do that.”

“Tony—”

“Sir… Tom, I called to let you know that I’m fine and that the program has not been compromised. My abduction was related to, of all damn things, that stupid weaponized plague I got at NCIS.”

“Son, I’d ask if you were serious, but I know you wouldn’t joke about this. Also, that’s just the kind of stupid you attract.”

“I’m offended, sir.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Not really. I’m not easily offended. But in that whole plague vein, and related more to Homeland’s mandate, USAMRIID assured NCIS and the CDC that the samples were destroyed after they’d done some vaccine research. They weren’t. And the group that took me seemed to think they’d have an easy time getting ahold of them.”

Morrow swore, and it was so out of character that it left Tony kind of flummoxed. “What group would that be?”

“Uh, I’m not sure you’d believe me if I told you, and I doubt your line is private enough for this conversation. Mine sure the hell isn’t, but no one had this number before today.”

“I see. And there’s nothing wrong with my security protocols. I don’t suppose this would be a radical group that rose in prominence around Word War II and had strong ties to the Nazis?”

“Sir, you should hang up your bureaucrat’s hat and exchange it for something more fitting Poirot.”

Morrow snorted. “I was a fine investigator in my day, I’ll have you know.”

“I’ve never doubted it, sir.”

“DiNozzo,” he said, tone serious, “you do have to come in for debriefing. That’s not an option.”

“I understand my duty, sir, but I hope you can understand the kinds of things the aforementioned secret organization is wont to do. I’m not…at my best.”

There was another pause. “Are you all right, Tony?”

“Not exactly, but it doesn’t seem to be exigent. So, let me sort myself out, and I’ll be in touch.”

“Officially, I have to advise you to come in. Unofficially, do what you need to do, but please keep me in the loop. I worry about you, son.”

“Thank you, sir. I’ll call when I can.” He hung up and dropped the phone on the passenger seat.

– – – –

“Where’s Coulson?” Steve asked again as he paced around Tony’s living room. He’d been summoned urgently by Jarvis. He’d expected news, not this waiting.

“And for the fourth time, I don’t know.” Tony was slouched down on his couch, eyes closed. They’d agreed to break for a few hours so everyone could get some sleep, which had been about five hours ago. There had been no sleep the night before. Lack of progress and lack of rest had made everyone snappish until Coulson and ordered everyone to bed. Five hours was enough rest for Steve, but Tony should have gotten some more.

“I’m sorry. I know Coulson wouldn’t have called for us if he didn’t have news, and I’m… Well, I’m not usually so impatient.”

Tony opened one eye and peered at him. “It’s personal this time; I get it. Wear a hole in the floor if you need to, but it’d be awesome if you’d lay off the repeated questions.”

“Why just us? Why not everyone?”

Tony opened both eyes, rolled his head so he could glare at Steve. “While that’s a new question, it’s under the umbrella because, as I’ve said, there’s nothing I know about this that you don’t know. Jarvis said Agent needed to see us. You and me. And so here we are. And I know nothing else. Nada. Zilch. Zippo.”

Steve rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry.”

“And stop apologizing.” Tony closed his eyes again and slouched further into the couch.

The elevator door opened just when Steve was about to lose his mind, and Coulson stepped out. “What happened? Why’d you need to see us?”

Coulson held up a hand. “DiNozzo called me. Hydra had him, but he escaped.”

Steve blinked. “He escaped.”

“Yeah. He’s resourceful like that.”

Tony got to his feet, hands shoved in his pockets. “All that build up and no dramatic rescue. I’m gonna nickname him killjoy.”

Steve shot Tony a quick look but focused on Coulson. “Where is he?”

“In a car he stole somewhere in Connecticut.”

“Did he steal the car in Connecticut, or is he in Connecticut?” Tony asked, head cocked to the side.

“Tony,” Steve growled out.

“What? I’d think his location is germane, and Agent wasn’t terribly specific.”

“Both,” Coulson answered before Steve could say anything. “He stole the car there, and he’s still there. But not only is Hydra eager to retrieve him, Tony decided to steal one of their assets. Because he’s…way too much like Stark, to be honest.”

Tony grinned at that then rubbed his hands together briskly. “So, we’re off to get Cap’s grandbaby?”

“He did agree to come in, but not to SHIELD. I persuaded him to let the Avengers help. In his words, the first thing he wants to see is red and gold, or he’s going to do his best to disappear.”

Steve blinked, and Coulson patted his upper arm. “He doesn’t know about his connection to you, Captain. Iron Man is the most recognizable part of the Avengers.”

“I guess that’s my cue,” Tony said. “I assume Jarvis is already tracking him?”

“Indeed, Sir.”

“Then let’s get busy! J, fill Bruce in. Tell him to prepare for the unexpected, but not to let little Nicky know what’s up.”

Steve watched as the armor flew to Tony and began forming around him.

Coulson prodded Steve toward the elevator. “I’ve got a quinjet ready. We’re not as fast as Iron Man, but he’s so close we should be there within fifteen minutes.”

Steve followed readily, eager to be out there.

They went up one floor and found Natasha and Clint waiting. Natasha immediately said, “Jarvis asked us to meet you here. What’s happened?”

“Mount up, kids,” Coulson said. “Clint, you’re piloting.”

“You found him?” Clint asked as he headed out to the landing pad.

“He found himself. Iron Man is already en route, so let’s get to it.”

Steve found his gear waiting on the jet. He wasn’t sure how it’d been retrieved, but he didn’t really care to know. He hadn’t wanted to meet his grandson in uniform, but if Hydra showed up, he needed to be prepared to fight, so he quickly changed while Clint got the jet in the air.

When Steve was making the final adjustments to his uniform, he noticed Natasha shooting a speculative look at Coulson. “You didn’t inform Fury,” she said with what seemed like false casualness.

“No, and I’d prefer that you not say anything yet either. It’s why I didn’t have Jarvis tell you why I needed you.”

“I’ll do whatever you ask, Phil,” Clint called back.

Natasha just kept staring at him.

“Is there a problem, Agent Romanoff?” Coulson asked with no inflection.

“I’m not sure. Are you asking us to choose between you and SHIELD?”

“I’m not going to play games with you, Agent. Right now, I am asking you to keep SHIELD out of the loop. And there are quite a few reasons for that. Melinda May is briefing Fury right now on why, exactly, SHIELD shouldn’t be involved in this. But if you feel you can’t agree, I’ll respect that. We’ll finish this part of the mission, and then you can return to the Triskelion.”

“I don’t like being kept in the dark.”

“None of us like it, but it happens every day, and you know it,” Coulson snapped. “You’ve never objected before. When I recommended you and Clint for the Avengers Initiative, I asked if you could make your primary allegiance be to the team, and you said yes. That you could compartmentalize your duty and loyalty to SHIELD and be here. And, yet, the nature of your questions now makes me doubt your sincerity then.”

Steve had no idea what was going on, but they were en route to get Anthony, so he was resolved to stay out of it. Earlier, Tony had said something about circuses and monkeys that seemed apropos.

Natasha looked away. “You died, Phil.”

“My death was no reason for you to break your promises to me, Natasha. Some of the things I asked of you, Clint, and May were in case I died. I needed you here. I needed you and Clint to keep the initiative going. And yet you both rolled back into SHIELD without a murmur.”

“You think we had a choice about that?”

“Be very careful here, Agent Romanoff; I know a lot more than you think I do.”

Steve suddenly had a sense of just how dangerous Coulson could be.

“Nat?” Clint called from the front. “What’s he talking about?”

When she didn’t reply, Coulson sighed and looked a little sad for a moment. Steve was, once again, absolutely lost.

Then Coulson’s expression hardened into the bland mask he usually wore. “After the battle with the Chitauri, Agent Romanoff advised Director Fury that the two of you and Captain Rogers should be primarily tasked to SHIELD and that the Avengers should only be called on in dire emergencies. Because, of course, there’d be zero need for you to train together, no need for forming strategies or working on tactics in between world-ending events. So, when Tony Stark was in a showdown with the Mandarin and being targeted by AIM, his team was fucking around in Eastern Europe on a mission based on bad intel while his house was being thrown into the ocean and his girlfriend kidnapped.”

Now, Steve felt like he was a part of this. “You recommended we not work together?”

“I did what I thought was best at the time,” she countered, and Steve gaped. She hadn’t even talked to him about it. She just chose for him.

“And that’s something we’ll need to discuss later. In depth.” Coulson’s gaze was flinty. “But now is not the time. We have probably less than five minutes to the destination, so if you’re not on board, I need to know now.”

“I already told you that SHIELD wasn’t my top priority here,” Natasha snapped.

“But I’m not sure what your priority is, Agent Romanoff.”

She briefly looked hurt. “I’d never betray you, Phil, you know that.”

“Our idea of betrayal may be different, so I don’t find that particularly reassuring. But you’re going to have Captain America and Iron Man pissed at you if you do anything to endanger Steve’s grandson.”

“I wouldn’t put him in danger!”

“Again, our definition of that term might be a bit different. You play word games with the best of them, so don’t think I’m not noticing. And I wasn’t finished! You’ll also have me pissed at you. And you don’t want me angry with you, Natasha; you really don’t.”

“Phil…” She swallowed heavily. “I did what I thought was best.”

“We’ll discuss it later.”

She inclined her head and looked to the front of the jet where Clint’s shoulders were set in a stiff line. Steve would normally want to sort these kinds of situations before going into a tactical situation, but they just didn’t have the time.

Coulson met his gaze. “I need to brief you on a very unexpected development. We don’t have confirmation yet, but I don’t want you blindsided when we go into a situation that could turn dangerous since Hydra is trying to track him down.”

“What’s happened?”

“Tony, uh, the DiNozzo one…” Coulson seemed like he was floundering. “Hydra performed super soldier experiments on him, the outcome of which I don’t know. He seemed fine when we were talking.”

Steve swallowed heavily. His grandson was alive, so he’d focus on that. “Okay. Whatever they did to him, we can manage it.”

“That’s not the issue.” Coulson opened his mouth then closed it again.

“Jesus, Phil,” Clint called from the front. “How bad can it be?”

“Look, Steve, Tony grabbed another Hydra…I guess he was a sort-of prisoner when he was escaping. But not exactly a prisoner either. Tony said something about torture, brainwashing, and memory erasure—all well within Hydra’s back of tricks.”

“So, he rescued someone that Hydra had turned into…what? A super soldier for their side?”

“I think so. But the issue is that Tony said he was certain the guy was, uh…” Coulson swallowed heavily. “Bucky Barnes.”

Pulse thundering in his ears, Steve braced his hands on his knees and reminded himself to keep breathing.

– – – –

Tony was on edge. And being on edge worried him in ways it didn’t use to because being edgy meant that humming started up, and he had to focus on keeping himself under control. But this whole situation was tailormade to make him anxious.

He was unaccountably exhausted. Plus, he was hungry and thirsty and had blown up his only water. A safe place where he could stop being hyper-vigilant sounded really damn good, but he worried about exactly how it was going to happen.

Before he could mentally rehearse his contingency plans yet again, a streak of red and gold flew past the car, barely above street level. Iron Man veered into the lane in front of Tony, slowing to Tony’s speed.

The phone rang.

Tony answered it quickly. “Yeah?”

“It’s your friendly neighborhood Iron Man.”

Tony laughed. “Yeah, I got that. You know we’re going to have name trauma, right?”

“Yes! And why doesn’t anyone else understand that?”

“Because they’re never confused when someone says ‘Tony’?”

“There’s a pullout a mile ahead with plenty of room for the jet to land—we can strategize nicknames. Jarvis tells me the jet is about seven minutes behind us.”

“Jarvis? Oh right! Your AI. Hey, Jarvis.”

“Hello, Agent DiNozzo,” a cultured voice came over the line.

Tony was geeking out a wee bit. He’d never spoken to a real AI before.

“Even though it’s early and there’s not much traffic, I’m going to fly up to avoid drawing more attention than necessary. I’ll be watching you the entire time.”

Tony felt himself relax a little. Iron Man was a one-man war. If Hydra showed up, Tony’s odds were much improved with Tony Stark around.

He pulled into the turnout for a scenic overlook and blew out a breath, making sure he was in control of his emotions.

Iron Man landed a bare second later.

Tony got out of the car and moved closer, shoving his hands in the jacket pocket.

Iron Man was still, head cocked a bit. He held up a finger in the universal “wait” gesture. About a minute later, the faceplate retracted. “I was just listening to a little confab going on aboard the jet. You have a guest with you?”

“Yeah, he’s in the trunk.”

Stark smirked. “Nice hospitality.”

“I’m all about the immersive experience.”

Stark extended a hand. “Tony Stark. Nice to meet a fellow snarky bastard.”

Tony kept his hands firmly in his pockets. “Pleasure to meet you, but in the interest of full disclosure, a few things that I’ve touched have blown up.”

The hand was jerked back. “Don’t touch my suit.” There was a pause. “Or me.”

Tony’s lips twitched. “Noted.”

“Jarvis says he appreciated the warning. He’s advising Dr. Banner so he can be better prepared.”

“Bruce Banner?”

“The one and only. He’s kind of been where you are. Plus, he’s brilliant, and I know from brilliant. So he’s the best person to help, okay? We’ll get things sorted.”

“Yeah.” Tony cleared his throat. “That’d be good. And, uh, thanks for coming to get me.”

“You’re welcome. And don’t worry about SHIELD. I’ve got a mountain of lawyers and lots of money that can keep them at bay. And there’s nothing they can figure out for you that we can’t.”

“Plus, I assume you don’t have a bunch of Hydra operatives lurking about your organization, so that’s a major selling point.”

Stark blinked. “Wait. Really? Did you tell Agent?”

“Agent who?”

“I mean Coulson.”

“Yeah. There’s really nothing I can do about it their organizational difficulties. But the last thing I wanted to do was be in the hands of a group riddled with Hydra spies.”

“Yeah, no shit. No wonder Nick has had an intel problem. Well, today, that’s not my circus, and they sure as hell aren’t my monkeys. And even if it were my circus, I’m not too keen on most of those monkeys.”

Tony laughed. “Bad?”

“You don’t even know.” Stark pointed to the car. “I’m gonna pop the trunk in just a second and get Jarvis to run facial recognition. See if we can confirm identity before Cap gets here. But, before I mess with the proverbial sleeping dog, I want to be sure we’re clear about the priority here.”

“Okaaay.”

“The priority would be you. The Hydra guy in the trunk is all well and good, but if Hydra shows up, I’m grabbing you, and we’re going up. That’s our last resort, so mentally prepare yourself and try not to blow us up, okay?”

“Gotcha.” Tony really didn’t have a problem getting the hell out of Dodge if Hydra made an appearance.

“Wow. You are way more cooperative than…Steve.”

Tony frowned, wondering at that association, mind spinning on this new detail as he followed Stark over to the car.

Barnes was awake, watching them closely as the trunk was opened, but he didn’t move.

“Huh. So you wrapped him up like that?”

“It seemed like a good idea at the time. And the factory that they were using as a cover for their base had all these steel rods lying around. I figured no matter how strong he is, it might be like the thing with an alligator’s mouth.”

Stark shot him an incredulous look. “The what now?”

“You know… You can hold a gator’s mouth shut, but once it’s open, you’re fucked. Because they have more strength behind their bite than behind, uh,” he gestured to his own face, “opening…or whatever. Well, I suppose that’s true for everything that bites…all the force is in the bite itself. Which, you know, energy, momentum, strength. Blah, blah, blah. I figured there’d be an element of momentum needed for him to apply enough force to break out. But since he can’t get momentum… Okay, I’ll stop talking now.”

Stark blinked a few times. “That was dizzying. I wonder if I ever do that to people?” He made a face. “Jarvis says I do. In any case, it’s well reasoned, but, uh…” He stared at Tony. “You bent those rods around him?”

“Yeah. I was in a hurry and needs must. It can’t be comfortable, and I’m sorry about that,” he said directly to Barnes.

“No, uh… You see, I think the factory must have made lightbulbs at some point.”

Tony frowned. “How do you know that?”

“Because lightbulb filament is made of pure tungsten.”

“And…?” He stared into the trunk. “Oh!” He took a step back and stared at his hands, swallowing heavily. He’d bent a one-inch diameter rod of tungsten without any effort. He was so screwed.

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Chapter Five

Tony had pulled himself back together in the few minutes they had before the others arrived. Which was a good thing because that humming had started when he’d realized he’d bent metal that doesn’t bend. At least, not without more heat than any of them would have survived.

Stark had left him to his own devices, though Tony had heard him call in a positive ID on Barnes based on facial recognition. Stark had also managed to get the tungsten-wrapped Barnes out of the trunk without any help and plunked the guy on the ground. Tony had no idea how much the suit boosted Stark’s strength, but it was apparently but quite a bit.

A funny vibration in the air caught his attention. “Do you feel that?”

“Noooo,” Stark drew out. “What are you feeling?”

“It’s like a vibration. Not like the ambient noise vibrations or air currents or… Uh, okay, it is noise vibration. It’s just a really low pitch, and it’s getting louder. Is it the jet?”

Stark’s eyebrows were making for his hairline. “Jarvis says fifteen seconds out, so that’s not it.” He moved closer to Tony.

“It’s still getting louder.”

“I don’t hear anything.” Stark was close enough to grab Tony and take off, but he was clearly waiting until they knew where and why.

“And louder.”

“Okay, I hear it now too. That’s the quinjet,” Stark confirmed.

“Oh. I’ve never heard one before.”

“You shouldn’t have been able to hear it at all.”

Before Tony could ask about the sensory acuity of others given super-soldier serum, the jet suddenly came into view over the tree line. “I hope that’s them.”

“It is.”

Tony had seen a quinjet on the news but had never been close to one. They were cool as hell. And the first person off the jet was Captain America, which was sort of surreal. The first Avenger in all his star-spangled glory had come to help Tony out. Rogers was in the suit with his shield on his back, but his cowl wasn’t on. He looked anxious, which Tony figured was understandable. Steve Rogers had gone into the ice thinking his best friend had died.

Except the guy was looking at Tony and then at Barnes—who was stony-faced—and then back at Tony. And continuing to look at Tony. “Steve Rogers,” he introduced himself, aborting the motion of extending his hand. “I understand you’re having a problem with touch.”

“Anthony DiNozzo, though everyone calls me Tony. And I’m actually having a problem with blowing things up if I get all emo,” Tony corrected.

“Emo?” he repeated, sounding bewildered.

“Oh, uh, it was a subculture that grew around a musical style and some really questionable fashion and haircuts. Angsty and emotional. But, for most people these days, it just means emotional. Because while I may say I feel all emo, I’ve never been tempted by skinny jeans or bangs.”

“I dunno, Sherlock,” Stark interjected, “I think you could probably pull off skinny jeans. But definitely give shaggy bangs a pass.”

“Sherlock?” Where had that come from?

“World’s greatest problem solver…? Ring any bells?

“Ah.” Well, he’d have to figure out how far that had leaked. “Holmes was a deductionist. I’m more of a puzzle solver. I expect something more on point next time.”

Stark’s lips twitched. “Challenge accepted.”

He glanced back to Rogers. “Thank you for coming to get me. In recompense, I shall try to keep my use of modern neologisms under control.”

“No, no… It’s fine. I just won’t always get it.” The poor guy was so painfully awkward. Rogers glanced over toward Barnes again, then back to Tony. He looked oddly torn. “I should…”

“I don’t need a sitter, man, go see your friend. But, uh…” he reached out then remembered and yanked his hand back. “He’s not going to remember you, I don’t think. They seemed pretty convinced of their ability to brainwash and erase memories.”

Rogers’ jaw muscles flexed so hard that Tony was surprised he didn’t break something. “Hydra did that to him.”

“For a long time. From what they said, anyway.”

It looked like Tony’s words had ripped him right open. “How do I help?”

“Can I offer some completely unsolicited advice?”

Rogers met his gaze more squarely. “Of course. From you…yeah, anything.”

Tony frowned, filing that away. “Don’t talk to him like he’s Bucky. It’ll just put stress on him. If he’s got any chance of remembering, it’s got to be in his own time. When you’re ready, tell him you knew him when you guys were young or whatever, but deal with the person he is now, not the person he was then. Your good memories can feel like expectations that he might not be able to meet. And that’s stressful.”

There was a long silence while Rogers just stared at him, gaze never wavering. “You have a Ph.D. in psychology, right?”

Tony blinked in surprise. “I guess if everyone and their pet poodle was looking for me, you’d have my bio. Um, yeah. Helps with the work.”

“We didn’t really go in much for that in my day, but I can see why the practice evolved. Thank you for the advice. If there’s more you think I should know, please tell me.”

“Oh, I’m not a mental health professional. I wouldn’t presume—”

“I’d welcome any advice from you. Any time. It wouldn’t be overstepping.”

Tony frowned, taking in the way the others were all standing back and giving them space, some odd things that had been said… “I don’t suppose we’re related?” he asked, cocking his head to the side.

“Really?” Stark blurted out. “You figured it out from him willing to take advice from you?”

Tony scoffed. “That was hardly the only clue.”

Rogers rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah. Sorry, I was trying to figure out how to tell you.”

“Tell me what exactly? That you’re my…I’m guessing grandfather?”

“Yeah.” Rogers’ voice sounded hoarse. “I just found out about you. About your mom.”

“Whoa! Wait a minute. You’re my grandfather through my mother?”

Coulson stepped up to them. “Let’s do this on the jet. We don’t need to give Hydra time to catch up with us.”

“I’ll just help Tony with Buck.” Rogers jerked his thumb over his shoulder and practically fled. It took Tony a beat to realize he meant Stark.

He followed Coulson towards into jet. There were two agents guarding from the outside. Tony figured he’d meet them later.

“You got anything in that car you care about?”

Tony held his hands spread wide. “What you see is what you get. Just me and this charmingly shapeless fashion.”

Stark thudded up the ramp. “If you’ll give Jarvis your measurements, he can order some clothes for you.”

“What…my dungeon couture isn’t working for you?” He had a wardrobe he was fond of back in DC, but he suspected home was off the menu for quite some time. Not to mention that Homeland Security had likely been through literally everything with their sticky little fingers. The dry cleaning was going to bury him.

“That shade of green doesn’t work for anyone,” Stark countered as the armor peeled away and he took the seat next to Tony, leaning in to whisper, “I’m not sure if I should have left the seat next to you open for Steve so he could be close, or the seat across so he could stare at you pensively.”

Tony snorted. “And you thought a pensive gaze was the right call?” murmuring in return. “Or are you contrary by nature?”

“That’s all natural, baby.”

Tony chuckled, grateful for the distraction.

They watched as Rogers got Barnes situated, looking torn up about the whole thing. The two agents headed for the front of the jet as the ramp closed.

Coulson took the seat across from Stark. “Up in front, we have Agents Barton and Romanoff. Codenames are Hawkeye and Black Widow.”

“Ah.” Tony waved to the two. “Nice to sorta meet you. Thanks for the assist.”

“You did all the hard work, man,” Barton said dryly as he maneuvered the jet off the ground.

Rogers sat across from Tony, which forced Tony to bite his lip to keep from laughing. The gaze was definitely pensive. “Your mom—”

“Whoa!” Tony made a furious time-out gesture. “No heavy discussions in the air. I’d like to think my ability to compartmentalize is top-notch, but the last time I got really upset, I left a smoking crater in the floor. And I’m not even sure how it happened. So if we could talk about the weather or something until we’re back on the ground, that’d be great.”

“I think we’d all prefer to the jet stay intact,” Coulson said dryly. He cocked his head to the side. “You’ve looked better, Tony.”

He couldn’t help it; he started to laugh. “Hello to you, too, Phil.”

Everyone looked startled, and Tony felt his amusement evaporate. “Uh. What?”

“What emotion were you feeling just now?” Phil prompted.

“Amusement. Why? I don’t feel that funny humming under my skin that caused things to go boom, so I think it’s okay to find something to laugh about after these last few, god-awful days.”

“You were glowing,” Rogers said seriously. At something he saw in Tony’s expression, he hastily added. “Just a little!”

“Yeah,” Tony said dryly, “the amount of glowage is what I’m stuck on.”

Rogers shot Stark a helpless look.

Stark laughed. “Don’t worry, Glowworm; we’ll figure it out.”

Tony stared at his hands, feeling that faint hum again, but he didn’t see any light. He wrestled his disquiet at the situation under control. When he looked back up, he met Steve’s gaze, and it looked kind of weird and out of focus. “I wonder if it’s messing with my vis—”

Steve jumped forward, barely catching his grandson before he hit the deck. He wound up on the floor with Anthony in his arms and frantically checked his pulse. He blew out a breath and nodded to Tony and Coulson. “It’s very slow but steady.”

The Iron Man armor walked close. “Jarvis is scanning what he can,” Tony supplied. “Any idea what happened?”

“No.”

“He’s kind of pale.” Tony glanced to Coulson. “Is that normal for him?”

“Definitely not. For him, I’d call that deathly pale, but he was acting normally, so I didn’t want to bother him about it.”

“He hasn’t eaten,” Bucky’s voice came from the back of the plane. Steve jerked his head around. It was the first time Bucky had spoken.

“Buck?”

Tony nudged him sharply and gave him a pointed look. Right. He remembered Anthony’s advice. “He hasn’t eaten since when?”

Bucky’s expression was impassive, and Steve wasn’t sure he was going to continue to help, but Bucky finally added, “They don’t eat for two days before the procedure, so they don’t asphyxiate on their vomit, and there’s less shit for the lab techs to deal with after.”

Inside, Steve recoiled at the stark evidence of what Bucky had been through. What his grandson had been through. And that Bucky was so far gone that he’d helped do this to someone else.

Tony nudged him. “Steve, how much do you eat a day? About ten thousand calories?”

“More,” he stammered out, feeling off-kilter, “if I’ve been fighting or injured.” He felt the pulse under his fingertips slow. “His pulse is slower.”

“It was only forty to begin with,” Tony said, sounding worried.

Steve looked around frantically. “So it’s…low blood sugar?”

“No,” Bucky said harshly. “We’re designed to hibernate when near death.”

Steve felt frantic and completely powerless. “What do we do?”

“Take a breath, Steve,” Tony said softly. “Bruce is going to meet us on the landing pad. And then Bruce and Phil are going to get him down to medical while you help me get Barnes into Hulk’s playroom.”

“I have to stay with—”

“Steve.” Tony hunkered down and met his gaze. “You have to help me with Barnes. We can’t take the chance that he can get free before we see if we can help him. Five minutes with me and then you can pace outside medical, okay? I’m sorry you have to make this choice, but you do.”

Steve swallowed heavily and forced himself to push the panic away. “Yeah. I got it.”

“Good.”

– – – –

Steve helped Bucky onto a large, plush couch in the playroom—as Tony called it—designed for Hulk. He desperately wanted to get upstairs, but he didn’t feel right leaving Bucky wrapped in steel bars. “Shouldn’t we get those off?” he asked Tony, who was wearing the armor in case Bucky got loose or tried anything.

“That would be inadvisable, Captain Rogers,” Jarvis’ voice drifted from hidden speakers. “The only method at our disposal at this time would be you personally attempting to break the bars, which could result in significant injury to Sergeant Barnes should you be successful.”

Bucky twitched at his name.

“I’ve bent steel bars before,” Steve replied.

“Bragging is ugly, Steven,” Tony quipped. “But that’s not steel, it’s pure tungsten, and if enough force to reshape it were applied without significant heat, it would shatter. Tungsten is very brittle. Think of it like breaking dry spaghetti.”

Steve stared at the bars. “Then how’d they get that way?”

“I have no idea. And believe me, having to utter those words pains me deeply.”

“We can’t just leave him like that.”

“Yeah, I know. Ideally, Glowworm will be able to undo his Hydra origami, but while you’re sitting by his bedside, mopping his brow, I’ll be working on a plan B, okay?” Tony nudged him toward the door. “I need you to trust me on this, Steve.”

Steve halted and stared at Tony. “I do trust you.”

Tony looked taken aback, and Steve wanted to kick himself for anything he’d done to make Tony think otherwise.

He looked back to Bucky. “We’ll be back as soon as we can, B– uh, Sergeant. Jarvis will be listening, so please call if you need anything.”

It was hard to walk away, but Steve needed to be with his grandson, and said grandson was the key to helping Bucky.

Tony stepped out of the armor after they cleared the room and the armor followed them up to medical.

Bruce waved them inside where Coulson was helping him. No one else was around. Bruce was looking intently at the readout from some machine.

Coulson answered the unasked question. “I need to find out what’s going on with Agent Romanoff before she has any access to anything else we’re working on. Especially DiNozzo while he’s unable to defend himself.”

Steve was taken aback. “You think she’d hurt him?”

“If Fury ordered her to get blood samples or, worse, help him get physical custody of DiNozzo, I don’t know which way she’d go, and that worries me. Because I used to think I could predict her, but now I don’t know.”

Part of Steve wanted to ask questions, to find out what had gone wrong, but it wasn’t his top priority now.

“And Barton?” Tony prodded.

Coulson shook his head. “We don’t need to worry about Agent Barton. He’s loyal to me first, of that I have no doubt.”

He felt like that was enough for now and focused on the more urgent situation in front of them. “How is he?”

Bruce looked up from the displays. “I think what Barnes told you was accurate. Super-soldier physiology is complicated and poorly understood. Well, by anyone on our side of the fence. It would seem that Hydra never stopped making them, so it stands to reason that they better understand how this works.”

“I don’t think we should rely on them as an information source,” Tony said dryly.

“Probably not. In any case, if this sort of ‘hibernation’ state is normal for a typical super soldier in dire physical straits, then I think all we can do is provide supportive care and see what happens.”

“So he needs to eat?” Steve clarified.

“It’s not quite that simple. This isn’t low blood sugar. It’s—” Bruce broke off with a look of consternation. “My situation is different than yours or his, okay? When my body can no longer sustain being, uh, big and green, I switch back—the big guy’s calorie requirements are astronomical. There’s an unpredictable element with me that makes me a poor comparison, and yet some things are the same. My super soldier mode, for lack of a better term, is temporary. When I’m back to Bruce, I eat a lot and need some rest, but that’s it. The shutdown, as it were, is me reverting.

“With you guys, it’s this hibernation state. Now, think of how hard you’ve pushed yourself in combat over the years, the hungriest you’ve ever been after your change. Were you ever close to shutting down?”

Steve just shook his head.

“Right, and that’s because the changes wrought on your physiology make you incredibly efficient with energy storage and usage.” Bruce looked to Anthony. “Whatever he went through in the last day, whatever energy he had to expend, he consumed every bit of resources and beyond. A normal man of his build should weigh about 180 pounds. The increased muscle mass and muscle density, not to mention increased bone density, caused by the serum would put him closer to 250 optimally. He’s 165. His body shut itself down before he could start consuming his internal organs.”

“So, how do we treat it?” Coulson asked.

“We’ll treat him like anyone who is malnourished, but I think the problem is correcting itself, which I don’t understand. If we compare him to Steve, he may get better on his own.”

“Me? How am I a baseline for this?”

“You had to have been injured when you crashed and went into the ice but, other than being, well, frozen, you were fine when they found you. Your body had healed even in this so-called ‘hibernation.’ With what energy, I do not know. It’s as if some aspect of what the serum does only functions in this state.”

Bruce took a deep breath. “That said, even with you and me, and possibly even Barnes as a benchmark, there’s a lot more going on with him. None of us glow when we’re happy. I have tests running, but I don’t know what else Hydra did to him.”

Abruptly, Steve made a decision. “I need to talk to Bucky. Is Anthony okay for now?”

“He’s stable,” Bruce confirmed.

He hesitated and looked to Tony. “I’d prefer to have you with me, but I think Phil has more insight into Hydra and would be able to help guide my questions. Do you mind helping Bruce?”

“Yeah, that’s fine, Steve. I’d like to look over the test results so far anyway.”

When they were in the elevator, Steve turned to the other man. “Thank you, Agent Coulson, for taking on the task Peggy asked of you. I should have said that before now. You had no reason to and every reason to stop, and you’ll always have my gratitude.”

“It’s been my honor, Captain, truly.” He extended a hand that Steve shook. “Please call me Phil.”

Steve smiled faintly. “Steve.”

When they got to the containment floor, they found Bucky sitting exactly where they’d left him, staring straight ahead. There were two levels of security doors to get through.

Steve stood in front of Bucky, keeping a healthy distance because he didn’t want to seem like he was trying to intimidate his old friend. “I need to know what Hydra did to him.”

Bucky just stared straight ahead.

The silence stretched on. “Sergeant…please. No one here wants to hurt you. We want to help if we can. Even if I personally wasn’t invested in seeing you well, I’d do it for him. Because he saw himself in you. He saw his own fate and wanted to help you, try to give you back some of what you lost. So please help me help him.”

There was something in Bucky’s eyes. Their gazes met, but silence was his only answer, that and restlessly moving hands. Steve worried that Bucky’s circulation was cut off to his arms. He was probably trying to keep the blood flowing.

“Bucky…” Steve took a deep breath. “You helped us on the jet. If there’s something we need to do for him, please tell me.”

“I didn’t help you,” Bucky said tonelessly, never looking away from Steve. “I gave you enough information to keep you from damaging Hydra’s asset with your bumbling until they can retrieve it and me.”

Steve flinched back as if he’d been slapped.

Coulson grabbed his arm and led him out of the room. “Jarvis,” Coulson called out, “We need Stark down here ASAP with his tools.”

“What?”

“I was monitoring, Agent Coulson, and I have relayed Sergeant Barnes’ message to Sir. However, he and Dr. Banner believe you should bring Sergeant Barnes to medical.”

Coulson looked surprised. “Seems risky.”

“Not with Dr. Banner present.”

“That seems really risky.”

“As you say, sir.”

“Tell Barton, and have him make sure the SHIELD teams on the exterior stay on alert. Tell him I said it was confidential.”

“Yes, Agent Coulson.”

“What did I miss?” Steve couldn’t imagine how he’d missed a message. Wait. Bucky’s hands.

“Barnes was fingerspelling. There are tracking and surveillance devices in the arm. SHIELD has had teams around Stark Tower all day, so I’m not too worried about Hydra storming the castle, as it were, but better safe than sorry. Play along when we go back in there. Stark must have some kind of plan.”

Inside, Coulson led with, “If you’re not going to help us in one way, you can help us in another. Let’s go. Rogers, get him up. We’re moving.”

Jarvis took them up to Bruce’s lab rather than medical, and Tony was sitting at a worktable tapping some kind of tool on his palm. “About time you got here. So, Bruce says he thinks our little harmonica is going to be a coma for at least a few days.” He shook his head to negate his words, letting Steve know what he said wasn’t the truth. “So, he doesn’t need me hanging around, and I hate the medical wing.

“Which gives me time to focus on other things. We can’t leave the sergeant trussed up like that, and since the person we need to set him loose can’t help, I thought of another way. Plus, we’ve got some time before we move both of them to the SHIELD safe house.”

Tony passed him a note.

––
Removing the arm. I should be able to get him out of most of his cage with the arm off. Gonna have to nearly destroy the arm to do it. The lab blocks signal transmission but can’t afford to take a chance in case there’s a recording. Need to leave it intact. Clint’s gonna fly the arm out of here. Only a temporary diversion for Hydra, but SHIELD might be able to intercept retrieval team. Want all the sup’d up people here for this, so need Phil to trade places with Bruce for a little bit.
––

Steve nodded reluctantly and passed the note to Phil. It was a good plan except for Banner’s involvement.

Coulson left, and Bruce showed up a few minutes later, having changed into a loose T-shirt and sweatpants. “You sure about this, Tony?”

Tony nodded. “I’ve always trusted you, Bruce. All of you.”

That gave Steve pause. The only person to have any confidence in Banner before the battle in New York had been Tony. Everyone else had seen Hulk as a liability. But Steve was coming to see that in all of this, it hadn’t been Tony’s judgment that had been questionable.

Steve reached out and squeezed Bruce’s shoulder. “You’ll do fine, Bruce. Both of you. Tony is right.”

Bruce blinked a couple of times before nodding his head. He pressed on the inset screen of the table a few times then one of the holographic displays flared to life, showing a silenced video of various shots taken of Hulk during the battle.

Gesturing to the screen, Bruce stared at Barnes. “That’s me when I get cranky. However good or strong you might be, you’re not that strong. If you cooperate, we’ll hopefully get you out of that unfortunate cage. You can get a meal and a shower and then some rest. If you get clever about all this, the Big Guy is gonna get upset and make a hole in the floor with you. If you’re lucky. Are we clear?”

“Yes,” Bucky said emphatically, though there was no other expression or tone.

“Good.” Bruce moved closer and gestured to Bucky. “Steve, can you confirm that the metal isn’t bendable?”

Steve grabbed one of the ends and did some experimental pushes and pulls. “You were right; it’s not going to bend. I’m pretty sure I could snap it, but it would be a lot of effort, and I do worry that Bucky might wind up with…” he trailed off. How the hell had his grandson bent it so precisely. There were places where it wasn’t just bent, it was almost conformed to Bucky’s body.

“Severe lacerations,” Bruce supplied. “Yeah. The broken ends would be sheered metal, so very sharp, and the amount of force necessary to snap a one-inch bar would likely cause those sharp edges to slice right through everything.”

“I’ll heal.” Bucky’s expression never changed, and it made Steve hurt.

“That’s not the way we do things,” Tony said, moving close and circling. “We’re going to do everything we can to avoid causing you pain. I guess we’ll have to try removing the prosthetic arm. It should give him enough wiggle room to get out of at least two of the loops. We’ll damage it quite a bit in the process, but c’est la vie.”

Bucky’s eye twitched.

Tony held up a small board he’d written on with marker. We’ll get you something better. Something the people who imprisoned you didn’t make.

Steve felt incredibly grateful and fortunate to have stumbled across these men.

He stood back, playing guard while Tony and Bruce worked to disassemble the arm around the tungsten bands, wiggling out pieces here or there. Sometimes it caused Bucky pain, but they’d stop and ask what hurt and how they could help. Bucky never replied other than to nod for them to proceed.

After they got the arm off by wiggling it out between the bands in three sections, Tony put the arm on a lighted table, and blue lights began moving over it. Then he and Bruce helped Bucky shimmy out of two of the rings by moving them up and the third ring by maneuvering it down. And then Bucky was free. He didn’t move or say anything.

Tony picked up the arm pieces and put them in a box. “Don’t give me the sad eyes, Buttercup. You can keep it with you until I have time to repair it. In fact, we’re leaving anyway, and it’s not like you can get this back on, so you can cuddle it on the jet. They’ve got DiNozzo loaded already.” He walked to the door of the lab, which opened automatically, and handed off the box to Clint, who nodded grimly and vanished with it.

“And that’s that,” Tony said brightly once the lab was sealed.

“Bathroom?” Bruce asked Bucky in a kind tone.

With seeming reluctance, Bucky nodded, and Bruce escorted him through a door on the far end of the lab.

“What are they going to do with the arm?”

Tony hopped up on a worktable. “Clint is going to take it and our little arachnid team member to someone named Melinda May, and then Clint will come back to the tower. May and Coulson worked out a plan for moving the arm around on a quinjet and then taking it somewhere. May is also going to do an assessment of Natashalie.”

“You’ve used that name before, but I don’t get it.”

“Figured you knew that story, Capsicle,” Tony said breezily. “SHIELD placed her at my company as a spy. She went by the name of Natalie Rushman. She’d actually been there for quite some time, but when it was clear I was dying, they had her get close to assess me or keep an eye on me or maybe even kill me. Who knows what dark plans lurk in Fury’s bizarre brain?”

Steve frowned. “SHIELD had her spying on you?”

“Keep up, Cap. It’s the SHIELD way.”

“I don’t think I like that way.”

“Spying makes the world go round. It just sucks when it’s close to home.”

“Spying on an enemy is not the same as spying on our own side. Especially a dying man on your own side. And why were you dying?”

“Wow! Nicky really does keep you in the dark. Let’s save that heart to heart for another day, hmm?”

“Tony—”

“Cap—”

“Steve!” he yelled then took a deep breath. “You said you’d call me Steve. And I’m sorry that I didn’t pay more attention to what was going on. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you were in trouble. I may have been manipulated by Fury, but I let that happen. I’ll do better.”

Tony stared at him in what looked like shock. He recovered his equanimity and nodded. “Anyway, I wasn’t concerned about the details of what Agent May is up to. I had Jarvis scan the arm, so we know everything about it. While it’s an advanced form of prosthetics, I can certainly do better. There was definitely a short-term recording module in the arm. More a buffering module in case he’s out of signal range. Hydra should get everything we said the minute that arm is off this floor.”

“Tony, you don’t have to do that…build him a new arm.”

“Let’s not even have this conversation.” Tony shot him a look that he couldn’t interpret. “One thing at a time. First, let’s get Rogers Jr. awake again.”

Bucky and Bruce came back into the main lab, cutting off their conversation.

Tony hopped down to grab a box Steve hadn’t even paid attention to before he pulled out several bottles of water and wrapped sandwiches, putting a pile in front of Bucky. “Bruce has impressed on us all the issue with super soldier metabolism.” When Bucky didn’t reply, Tony rolled his eyes. “You’re going to be with us for a while, Buttercup, so unless you plan to never eat again, there’s no need to stand there being stoic.”

Bucky flinched minutely. When everyone stopped and stared, he shrugged. “He called me that.”

“Who? DiNozzo?” Tony pressed.

Bucky gave a terse nod. “Stoick.”

“He called you stoic?”

“Stoick the Vast. I didn’t understand.”

Steve could completely relate to the not understanding thing.

“Ah. It’s a movie—an animated feature—How to Train Your Dragon. Hiccup is Viking living on a small island plagued by dragons. His whole clan are dragon hunters. Stoick was the leader and Hiccup’s father. He was the best dragon slayer in the village. Hiccup figured out that dragons are really just misunderstood and eventually shows his father that they can live together peacefully.” He shrugged one shoulder. “It’s a good movie. You can ask Jarvis to play it for you if you want.”

“Why would he call me that?”

Bruce leaned against the table and grabbed a sandwich. “Probably trying to relate to you, make a connection. If he started to see you as his inevitable end, he would want to humanize you as much as possible. As to why that particular name… Only he could say why he made that connection. It could be as simple as your stoicism.”

Bucky abruptly reached for a bottle of water, downing it all in one go. Then he grabbed a sandwich. “Dr. Johnson was fascinated by DiNozzo. There was evidence of the serum in every cell, but he wasn’t a super soldier. His conclusion was that DiNozzo’s father was one of the Winter Soldiers.”

“Winter Soldiers?” Tony pressed.

“There are five others.”

“So, you are one?”

“The first.”

“Okay. How’d he come to the paternal conclusion?”

“DiNozzo’s father of record isn’t his biological father. It was the logical conclusion considering DiNozzo persuaded him that he wasn’t adopted.”

Steve made a note to discuss that with his grandson.

“So, this Doc Johnson—and, oh my god, I can’t say that with a straight face,” Tony exclaimed, pressing his fingers to his lips. Bruce seemed amused too. Steve was in the dark, but so apparently was Bucky. “So, uh, Johnson tried to activate the serum and make DiNozzo into another of these icy soldiers?”

Bucky shot Tony a look and grabbed another sandwich. “He wanted to do more. The difficult part of the process is the serum integrating with the host’s biology.”

“Which is what happens when they apply radiation of some sort,” Bruce supplied. “Erskine’s ‘vita’ rays.” He nodded to Steve. “Gamma rays in my case. The radiation fuses the serum into you down to a molecular level. Which is painful, as I’m sure you’ll recall.”

Steve frowned. “Vividly.”

Bruce continued, “So if DiNozzo is born with that process already in place, clearly the radiation plays more of a role than just the fusion. And no one’s ever, that we know of, had the child of a super soldier before.”

“That’s a horrible thought.” Tony chucked an empty bottle into a trash can. “They’ve got five others. What are the odds they’re going to try to get them to breed?”

“We tend to be sterile from the radiation,” Barnes supplied. “I am.”

“Me too,” Bruce added.

Tony turned a thoughtful gaze on Steve. “But not Steve. Must be more to the vita/gamma thing than just a name.”

“Or it could be the serum,” Bruce countered. “They never replicated Erskine’s formula exactly. But that isn’t the point.” He looked back to Bucky. “They exposed him to some sort of radiation.”

“Yes. After Johnson gave him an additional serum. What he considered the best successes Hydra had in the human reengineering projects. It took him weeks to craft a dose that didn’t kill the subjects just at the injection point. He wanted the additional serum viable before he gave it to DiNozzo.”

Steve glanced away, feeling sick.

“Ugh.” Tony ran his hands through his hair. “He literally went Dr. Frankenstein, piecing together super soldier serums. Wonderful. And then they activated a biological cocktail with some gamma rays.”

“Filtered through a vibranium mesh.”

“What?” Bruce and Tony said at the same time.

“Johnson found records that Howard Stark had procured much more vibranium than was needed, even accounting for Steve Rogers’ shield. It was at the same time as Erskine began looking for volunteers.”

“Well, that’s interesting,” Tony said dryly. “And let’s not discuss that outside this room. We don’t need anyone getting it into their head that there’s a viable reason to begin super-soldier research again.” When they’d all agreed, Tony sighed. “So how was DiNozzo able to escape? He said there was a crater or something?”

“The procedure seemed to fail. Johnson assumed machine malfunction and had DiNozzo escorted back to his regular cell. The containment unit for super soldiers who live through the serum’s activation has never been breached.”

“Why was it deemed a failure?” Bruce asked. “It clearly wasn’t.”

“DiNozzo didn’t experience any pain.”

Bruce choked on the water he was drinking, and Steve realized he was laughing. He’d never seen Bruce really laugh.

“Why is that funny?” Steve asked.

“Hydra assumed their experiment didn’t work because it didn’t hurt enough. If that isn’t karma for the bad guys, I don’t know what is. They completely overlooked the fact that the pain comes from the serum fusing to your cells. And…?” He looked at Steve expectantly.

Steve enjoyed understanding their science speak for once. “Anthony already had the serum in his cells.”

“Yes. It’s his natural state.”

“It’s practically poetic,” Tony said. “I guess he escaped easily at that point because they treated him like a regular prisoner.”

Bucky nodded. “All the guards engaged when he broke out of his cell. That’s all I remember before waking in the trunk.”

“Okay, then.” Tony drummed his fingers. “The message here is that we are in unchartered territory and have no idea what’s going to happen with him. Great.” He stood up straight. “Steve and Bruce are going to take you back down to the playhouse. Jarvis is paying attention, and food and water are already there. He can get you movies, books, whatever. Just call out. He can even patch you through to us.”

Bucky’s nod was infinitesimal.

“Sergeant,” Steve felt compelled to ask, “why warn us about the arm? Why answer our questions?”

Bucky was silent for a long time. “He said a soldier wasn’t me. He said I had a name and gave me one when I only knew Soldier or Asset. But he said he’d stop if I didn’t like it.” Bucky lifted his head and met Steve’s gaze. “He gave me a choice and apologized for hurting me. I…can’t disobey if they use the words, but they’re not here, and the chair isn’t here. I’ll help until they come for me. And then I’ll obey.” He hesitated. “And I won’t remember any of this.”

Steve’s throat felt tight, and it was like someone was squeezing his heart. “Do you want to remember?”

After another pause, there was just a nod.

“Then I’ll do everything in my power to help.”

Bucky didn’t do anything unexpected as they escorted him downstairs to the detainment room.

As he and Bruce were preparing to leave, Bucky asked, “You knew me? Before?”

Steve turned slowly. “We grew up together. You were my best friend, and I thought you died on a mission trying to bring down Hydra.”

“What was my name?”

“James Buchanan Barnes.”

Bucky was quiet for a second. “You call me sergeant.”

“That was your rank and how I addressed you in the field. I thought it would be easier than imposing our personal relationship on you since you can’t remember.”

“I don’t…” He broke off with a look of consternation. “I’m not a sergeant. And he said I wasn’t Soldier, but I’m not Bucky. I don’t know him.”

Steve made himself not react. “That’s okay. Whatever you want is fine.”

“James.” His expression was blank, but Steve thought he was steeling himself for his wishes to be rejected.

“James it is,” Steve agreed softly. “I’m Steve. We’ll get to know each other again. I was frozen for over six decades, so everything is a little weird for me too.”

Apparently, that was the end of it because Bucky sat down and stared at the wall.

Out in the corridor, Steve blew out a breath. “I need a minute.”

Bruce patted his arm. “Take your time, Steve. And eat. You were the only one who didn’t. And,” he waved toward all of Steve, “change clothes. Time to stand down from duty and take care of your family.”

– – – –

Steve entered the medical wing feeling refreshed and less like Captain American and more like Steve Rogers. He’d needed a few minutes to handle his grief over Bucky, and even about what had been done to Anthony.

Coulson, Bruce, and Tony were all gathered around Anthony’s bed, talking lowly and…touching each other. He didn’t often understand modern science, but he felt especially out of his depth at how they were clasping each other’s arms.

“Steve!” Bruce called out. “Come feel this. I thought I imagined this earlier…”

“What?”

“Do you mind if I touch you?” Bruce asked, obviously trying not to reach for Steve’s hand.

“Uh…”

“It’s a comparison thing, which I can’t easily do to myself. I just need bare skin somewhere.”

Feeling like an idiot, Steve rolled up his sleeve.

Bruce closed his hands over Steve’s forearm, eyes closed in concentration. “I don’t feel it,” he murmured, pulling away.

“Feel what?” Steve asked, bewildered.

“May I?” Coulson asked. Tony just reached out and curled his hand around Steve’s arm. Steve nodded to Phil.

“Nope,” Tony said quickly. “Nothing at all. I suppose we could check Barnes, but I feel we’ve got enough of a sample size with the two of you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Your grandson vibrates,” Bruce said quickly, focusing on a screen.

“Is that supposed to make sense?”

“Just try it.” Tony gestured to Anthony and Bruce. “Touch Bruce’s arm and then the glowworm’s. Bruce says he feels it very sharply, but it took Coulson and me a little concentration to get it.”

Steve sat and took his grandson’s hand, being careful of the IV taped to the back of it. After only a few seconds, he understood. “He does vibrate,” he whispered, wondering what that meant. He took Bruce’s arm when it was offered—by Tony—and felt nothing. “I don’t feel anything…”

Tony was poking at a tablet faster than should be possible. “We don’t know what it actually means yet. Jarvis ran some simulations, and the results were…interesting.”

Bruce began typing on one of the machines. “The various serum types make Steve and I more sensitive to feeling it, but it’s obviously something unique to DiNozzo because Steve and I don’t do it. And Coulson confirmed that they ran every test possible on you, Steve, when you were frozen, and you didn’t emit any sort of resonance.

“You’ve all observed DiNozzo emitting energy of some sort. That glowing thing—and don’t worry, I’ve already confirmed he’s not putting off any kind of harmful radiation—so we wondered if we mapped the vibrations, could we come up with anything that matches the signature because our instruments record a rhythm of sorts.”

Tony added, “And here’s where it gets weird.”

“Here is where it gets weird? It wasn’t already weird?” He was starting to think everyone in the future was crazy.

Bruce waved him off. “I recorded the resonance, and the computers clocked this.” He flicked his finger, and a hologram appeared above the bed.

Tony Stark seemed to be the one nearly vibrating in place. “That frequency is the same as—”

“Ultraviolet light,” Bruce finished. “He’s not emitting UV light, but his whole body is resonating at that frequency. And I don’t even know what to do with that.”

“Stick him in the sun?” Coulson offered.

Everyone turned to stare at him, and he shrugged. “I’m not a scientist, but could it hurt? You said he’s not emitting UV, but maybe he’s trying to find it. Lightbulbs don’t emit much UV but there is some. The sun is finally up; take him back to the landing pad or one of the balconies.”

“It’s not a bad idea,” Bruce mused. “But a controlled environment would be better. Set up UV lamps in here?”

“UV lamps aren’t quite the same,” Tony countered. “If you don’t get a result, you haven’t proved anything. Besides, it’d be faster to just take him up a couple of floors.”

“But it might not do anything at all, and we’d be taking him away from medical.” Bruce looked to Steve.

After a few seconds, Steve said, “What?” He understood enough to know he was in over his head.

“He’s your grandson, Steve, and he can’t make decisions for himself. Unless I think your decision is horribly uninformed, you should be the one to make choices for him.”

“Oh.” He asked a couple of questions but came no closer to understanding how this might help. But one thing was clear—neither Bruce nor Tony thought this would hurt him, and that was enough of an answer for Steve. “Let’s try it.”

It didn’t take long to wheel the gurney to the balcony on Tony’s penthouse level. They put him in the morning sun with his arms and chest exposed despite the February cold.

“Now what?” Steve asked. “How long do we wait?”

Bruce and Tony exchanged shrugs before Bruce said, “At least fifteen minutes then I’ll recheck—”

Anthony gasped, his eyes shooting open as he arched up off the bed to a seated position, panting for breath.

“Holy shit!” Stark breathed. “Hydra made Superman.”

---

Chapter Six

Tony had barely been awake long enough to stretch before Dr. Banner was there taking his blood pressure.

“How are you feeling?” Banner was watching him intently.

“Probably better than I have a right to. Where am I?” His memories of the last day were sketchy at best. He remembered waking up, feeling incredibly tired, and going back to sleep. Lather, rinse, repeat. He didn’t remember actually meeting Dr. Banner, but he recalled him being around every time he was awake. But he couldn’t recall going to sleep the first time or why.

“You’re in Tony’s penthouse. Best balcony access, and there were only a few rooms on the guest floor ready.”

“I thought I was dreaming of being out on the balcony. Better than being in a hospital, I guess. Chillier, though.”

“I’d have preferred to have you in the medical wing Tony had built for the Avengers, but we needed easier access to outdoors.” Banner smiled faintly. “Super soldiers apparently hibernate when they’ve exhausted every bit of their reserves or are severely injured, and you, unlike anyone else, replenish those reserves with ultraviolet light.”

He sputtered. “What now?”

“One-hundred over sixty.” Grinning, Banner removed the cuff. “And you heard me right. You recharge in the sun.”

“Dude. Not cool.”

“Oh, I think it’s very cool.”

He considered for a second. “Is Stark making Superman jokes?”

“Without cease. I think he’s designing you an outfit. Cape and all.”

“Oh god.” Tony rubbed his hands over his face. “I’m never going to be able to watch the movies again, and they were my favorites as a kid.”

Banner patted his shoulder.

“If we met, I don’t recall it, but thank you for everything,” Tony said sincerely. No one in this situation was obligated to help him in any way, but they’d all stepped up for him, and he couldn’t repay that.

“We didn’t officially meet. Bruce Banner, at your service.”

“Tony DiNozzo, please call me Tony or, really, anything but glowworm.”

“We all get nicknames from Stark. It’s a sign he likes you. In any case, I’m sure Steve will descend on us shortly, and then we’ll fill you in on everything that happened, okay?”

“Do I have time for a shower?”

“Take as long a shower as you want; I think you’ve earned it, and we can wait. Jarvis ordered some clothes for you, which you’ll find in the closet.”

“Cool.” Tony hopped up, feeling stiff and kind of creaky but overall better than he had in days.

He nearly tripped when he caught sight of himself in the mirror. He looked quite a bit younger—late twenties at the most. It wasn’t a bad thing, but it was weird to look in the mirror and see a younger version of himself. He’d never quite looked his age, but he wasn’t so deluded as to think he could normally pass for a twenty-something.

When he stripped off the pajamas, he got a rude shock. While he was somewhat more muscular than he’d ever been—but not to a freakish degree—the amount of body fat was alarming. His muscles were corded and defined starkly under his skin, covered by too little flesh. He made immediate plans to source an entire cow to eat because he was not okay with this. And he considered it his patriotic duty to eat as much cheesecake as he could find.

Putting the worry aside, he hopped in the shower. The hot water pouring over his skin was glorious, like the best physical sensation he’d ever experienced. And then he saw the faint shimmer of light dancing over his skin, which totally ruined his feel-good buzz. Sighing, he reined in his enthusiasm for hot water and cleanliness. Hydra had turned him into a fucking nightlight.

The clothes Jarvis had provided for him were mostly jeans and T-shirts, and the sizes were pretty spot on. “Thanks, Jarvis. That was very considerate.” Amused at some of the T-shirts, he selected an “I <3 Hulk!” graphic T.

“The order was placed at Sir’s request. Although, I did alter the inventory from skinny to straight-leg jeans. They seem better suited to your proportions.”

“And for that, you have my undying gratitude. My calves were not meant for a denim stranglehold. Would you remind me later to send Tony a barrage of YouTube videos of twerking turtles and cats falling off things?”

“Certainly, sir.” It was interesting how “sir” sounded very different when Jarvis was talking about Stark.

When he went out to the living area, he found food spread out on the table and Bruce reading something while idly picking at some fruit. “That smells so damn good.” He loaded up a plate, feeling ravenous. “No Steve?”

“He and Tony are talking to Barnes.” He caught sight of the shirt and sighed. “I assume that was Tony’s doing?”

“Unless this is Jarvis’ sense of humor.”

“Not really.”

“He got me Iron Man and Captain America too. I’ll wear Iron Man the day he wears a shirt with my likeness on it.”

“Uh…” Bruce shook his head. “You don’t want to dare Tony. Your face will be on his next T-shirt post haste. He’d probably get all of us T-shirts with your picture and declare a DiNozzo T-shirt day.”

“Noted. Besides, the big guy is my favorite.”

Bruce blinked. “You’re kidding me.”

“Nope. You two are directly responsible for saving one of the few friends I have from my childhood. He was in Manhattan during the invasion; he stayed and tried to help get people off the streets. Hulk grabbed a Chitauri right before it was going to shoot Martin and the people he was trying to protect.”

“Oh.” Bruce looked uncomfortable. “That’s…good.”

“It’s great. So, thank you. Both of you.”

“It’s not… I’m not… I mean, it’s not like I had anything to do with…”

“Don’t you have everything to do with it?” Tony grabbed four muffins. “I mean, he’s part of your psyche.”

“A very angry part,” Bruce said, tone dry as the desert.

“Or is you getting angry the only time that part of you can…get out?”

Bruce cocked his head to the side. “How do you figure?”

“Well, if he were just angry, he’d be angry all the time, yeah? But, as far as I can tell, he didn’t deliberately hurt anyone. Ever. No matter what Ross said. If he was just raging, wouldn’t he be deliberately destructive?”

“I think there’s a lot of destruction, don’t you?”

“Hmm.” Tony stopped for a second and stared at Bruce. “Not to be an asshole but are you only this obtuse about your inner Hulk, or does it crop up in other areas.”

Bruce’s mouth fell open. “What?”

“I’ve seen all the videos, Bruce. Most of the destruction was incidental, collateral damage. There are way more documented instances of protective instincts and attempts not to harm.”

The other man stared for a long time, mouth agape, then he sat up straight. “You’ve researched me?”

“Not exactly. After Ross made a mess on a college campus, I was asked to do an analysis of Ross’ report about you, the incident, and your alter ego. I red-lined most of his ‘official’ report and was then asked to do a threat assessment about you and your little friend.”

“You disagreed with Ross.” Bruce cleared his throat. “What did your threat assessment say?”

“Basically, that your other half was probably uncontainable but that I didn’t see any indication of imminent threat, and you should be left alone. I wrote up a whole report about my impressions of your other half and what drives him.” After a pause, he offered, “I’ll send it to you if you want it.”

Bruce’s eyes narrowed. “Why would you do that?”

“Because there’s no reason not to?” Tony braced his arms on the table. “Look, I do my job to the best of my ability. Sometimes I’m wrong. More often than not, I’m right. If it gives you any peace of mind to know what my report about you said, you can read it.”

“I think— I guess—” Bruce made a frustrated sound. “I’d like to read it.”

“Okay, then.” He decided to finish off the eggs. Steve could fend for himself. “Besides, now your other half is sort of like my brother from another mother.”

Bruce chuckled. “Super soldier solidarity?”

“Nice alliteration.”

“And I wasn’t even trying.”

Tony smiled. “How’s Barnes doing? They figure out how to release him from…?” Tony trailed off, making a loopy gesture.

“We felt it was too risky to have Steve snap those bands, so we got him out by removing his prosthetic arm. Though, I suppose robotic arm is more accurate.”

Tony winced.

“There were surveillance and tracking devices in it, so it had to be removed no matter what. And Tony is prototyping something new.”

“If Stark designs it, I’m sure it’ll be better than anything Hydra gave him.”

Bruce saluted him with a glass of pineapple juice. “So, I guess I get to be the one to fill you in.”

“Go for it.”

Tony ate, a lot, while Bruce filled him in on all the happenings of the day before, and he was still eating when Bruce came to a finish. “So, after fainting like a damsel in distress, I started vibrating in a pattern that mapped out to the waveform of UV light. You guys stuck me in the sun and I…mysteriously got better. Okay.”

He took a breath and forced himself to just deal with the situation in front of him and not how he was feeling about it. “Now, this may be a dumb thing to get stuck on, but you said I gained forty pounds from lying in the sun?”

“Yes, your body seems to be capable of absorbing solar energy and converting it into muscle, adipose tissue, even your bone density improved.”

“But that’s gonna stop, right? I mean, there’s some upper threshold? I’m not gonna have to become a shut-in so I don’t turn into a blimp, am I?”

Bruce laughed. “You’ll be fine. Super soldiers have a physical set point that’s even more fixed than most people. My guess is the solar thing is only when your body is critically depleted and not getting sustenance from anything else. It’s not as if you turned into a plant. Your calorie requirements are going to be such that I doubt there’s enough free time in the day for you to eat enough to gain excess body fat.”

“Oh good. Because I like being outside, and who wants to go for a nice picnic and gain weight before you ever get to the fried chicken?”

“Literally no one.”

“Right.” He started in on more eggs and bacon. “So, to sum up, Hydra sort of threw everything and the kitchen sink into me and now we don’t know what to expect. All we’ve got is some sort of energy discharge when I’m upset, glowing when I’m happy, hibernation if I’m nearly dead, and I can convert UV to actual, physical mass.”

“That about sums it up, though you left off matter manipulation.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“The way you bent those bars around Barnes… You had to have temporarily changed the nature of the physical matter because tungsten is too brittle to bend that way.”

Tony made a face. “Okay, so I guess there’s gonna be some tests in my future.”

“Mm-hm. We can get started whenever you’re ready.”

“Can we do whatever baseline you need and then put a pause on the rest? I have some things I need to do.”

Bruce’s eyebrows shot up. “Out of the tower? Coulson has been very clear that Hydra is still looking for you.”

“No, I can do it here. I just need a computer, a phone, and an encrypted connection. I can get the phone and computer delivered…” He trailed off, considering. “Jarvis, is it cool with Tony if I order a computer and connect to the tower internet?”

“Of course, sir. I relayed your needs to Sir, and he indicated that he would have the latest Stark equipment set aside for you. He’ll be up shortly.” Tony let it go. Borrowing something from Stark would be faster than waiting for delivery from an electronics store.

Bruce was giving him an assessing look. “You sure you feel up to this?”

“It wouldn’t matter if I did or not; some things take precedence over how I feel. But I’m actually fine.”

“Then, after we talk to Tony and Steve, we’ll go down to medical for a quick exam, but I’ll be checking in on you throughout the day.”

– – – –

Tony stared at his brand new StarkPhone and ended the call. His temper abruptly slipped out of his control, and the phone exploded, sending high-velocity shrapnel all over the room and, more painfully, into his flesh.

It was only a few seconds before Stark charged in, which made sense since Tony was in a small, obviously rarely used office off of Stark’s private lab.

“What happened?”

Tony plucked a small fragment out of his hand and watched with a kind of sick fascination as the wound slowly closed. “I lost my temper, and the phone was a casualty.” He met Stark’s gaze. The other man had insisted the phone and laptop were a gift. Fortunately, the laptop—which was twenty grand if it was a dime—had been closed when Tony’d gotten upset, so there were just some scuffs on the casing. “I’m sorry. I should probably get a bunch of cheap flip phones for making actual phone calls and save the expensive tech for when I’m not having to deal with assholes.”

“You’re not bringing a flip phone into my tower. I categorically refuse.” Stark came over with a bottle of water and some paper towels. “Bruce is on his way. Probably everyone else, too. And don’t apologize for what was done to you.”

“It’s obvious that managing it means I have to stay in control of myself, and—”

“Stop! It’s been a day. If you blow something up a month from now, then you can apologize.” Stark began wiping away the blood on Tony’s hand, carefully avoiding the fragments embedded in his palm.

“I’ll put a note in my datebook. Maybe on April first. ‘Today’s the day you can start apologizing for blowing up Tony’s tower.’”

“Well, you didn’t get the snark from your grandfather.” Stark shot him a look. “You better now? I mean, the control thing? Are you less emo? Obviously, Bruce and a pair of tweezers are going to be needed for most of this. It’ll be like the game of operation, super soldier edition.”

Tony huffed a little laugh. “I’m fine. I just need to clean up and talk to Phil.”

“About what?” Coulson asked as he led the procession into the room.

“Are you okay?” Steve asked, practically hovering and not giving Tony a chance to reply. “What happened? Do you need to go down to medical?”

“Steve,” Bruce interjected, pushing Steve away, “go sit down. Jarvis already filled me in.” Bruce took Stark’s spot and began looking over Tony’s hand. “This is going to sting a bit. Let me know if you feel like you’re going to, uh, have an unpredictable discharge.”

Tony choked. “That phrasing was unfortunate.”

Stark was leaning against the wall, snickering. “Deeply.”

Bruce rolled his eyes. “Let me know if the pain means you’re in danger of blowing up my tweezers. Or me. How’s that?”

“Gotcha.” Tony’s lips were twitching.

“I don’t think this is funny,” Steve said, sounding dismayed.

He shot Steve a look. “I’m fine, and besides, if there’s humor to be found in a situation, I will ferret it out. Just get used to it, man. And you get that me being amused is a safer emotion, yeah? We don’t need me angsting while Bruce is poking at me.”

Steve gave a terse nod, still looking unhappy. “What happened?”

Tony looked to Phil, easily ignoring the little stings from Bruce working on his arm and hand. “I need you to find out if Fury is trying to figure out who the rest of the members of the HELIOS Project are.”

Phil gave a pained grimace. “What happened?”

“Someone hacked Homeland. If they were just looking into my records, I’d suspect Hydra over SHIELD, but their search algorithm specifically was looking for any agents in the last eight years who appeared on any of the same reports, shared office space…” Tony took a steadying breath, controlling himself ruthlessly. “He doesn’t understand our organization, so he doesn’t even know how or where to dig, but he is putting people I’m responsible for at risk.”

“Dammit, Nick,” Phil muttered, dragging his hand down his face. “I’ll ask and, if it was at his behest, I’m sure he’ll have no problem admitting it.”

“Oh, I’m counting on Fury’s hubris.” Tony huffed. “This isn’t my usual M.O., but what happened with the Hydra facility I was held in?”

Bruce glanced up briefly before returning to poking at Tony’s arm. “Why would that be a problem to ask?”

“It’s just not the way…” He considered for a second. “It’s not how I do my job. I turn over my analysis, research, and recommendations, and then move on. If I get too wrapped up in what people do with it, I’d never sleep. I tried to treat this the same way. I gave SHIELD intel, it’s up to them to act, but Fury has totally fucked me if he’s compromised my team.”

“Tony,” Phil said as he blew out a breath, “I’m so sorry. I should never have told anyone about HELIOS.”

“It was vital information at the time,” Steve interjected.

Phil shook his head. “I’ve known for a while that Fury and I aren’t on the same page. I just thought— I didn’t think he’d do anything to compromise HELIOS.”

Instead of commenting on Phil’s self-recrimination, Tony repeated his question. “The facility?”

“It was in the process of being evacuated when the SHIELD team arrived. There were losses on both sides, but Fury took some Hydra soldiers and scientists into custody. Then they managed to seize several terabytes of data. After bypassing the self-destruct, of course.”

“How very Star Trek of them.” He kept eye contact with Phil. “Any of the test subjects survive?”

“One. The operatives were in the process of executing them when we arrived. The man left was in bad condition and probably insane. I’m not sure saving him was a mercy, Tony. He’s in the medical wing at the Triskelion.”

Tony nodded, not exactly surprised. “I want all the data they recovered from Hydra and whatever you think you can get me from SHIELD.”

Phil’s eyebrows shot up. “Tony.”

“I’m not really asking, Phil. If we confirm that Fury is compromising US intelligence assets, Morrow will kick this upstairs, and Fury is going to have the most uncomfortable come-to-Jesus meeting in history.”

“Upstairs?” Steve repeated.

“The Director of Homeland Security,” Phil supplied.

“POTUS,” Tony corrected.

“Oh.” Phil looked a little flummoxed then took a deep breath. “Tony, about Morrow.”

“I already figured out that he’s your source. I didn’t say anything to him, and neither will you.”

“All right.”

“I want that data.”

“And if it wasn’t SHIELD?”

“Then I won’t have to deal with Nick Fury until next week.”

Stark snorted, pressing his hand over his mouth.

Steve made a huffy sound and uncrossed his arms as he pushed off the wall. “I understood all those words, but I have no idea what any of it meant.”

Stark clapped Steve on the shoulder. “They’re deliberately being vague as they do their spy tap dance.”

Tony kept his gaze on Phil. “I’ll tell you what I can, when I can, Steve.”

Finally, Phil nodded. “All right, Tony. I’ll see what I can do.” He started to leave.

“I also want everything on Agent Romanoff,” Tony added, and Phil froze in his tracks. “I need to do an assessment.”

Phil didn’t turn around. “Agent May is evaluating her.”

“I’d welcome Agent May’s input.”

After a few seconds, Phil left the room.

Bruce was sitting back in his chair, having finished with Tony’s arm. “You heal faster than Rogers does. You don’t even really need bandages. The worst laceration should be closed in a few minutes.” He tilted his head toward the door. “What was that all about?”

Tony hesitated briefly. “I’ve been asked to do assessments on some key SHIELD personnel.”

Steve took a seat opposite Tony, hands clasped on the table. “And you need Agent Coulson to get you the information?”

“No, I already have most of what I need.”

“I don’t understand.” Steve frowned.

Stark moved closer, arms crossed, giving Tony a speculative look. “Was that a test?”

Tony looked up, meeting Stark’s gaze. “Yes, it was. And I really hope he passes it.”

“What is going on, Anthony?”

Tony made a face. He was trying to get used to Steve calling him that. It made Steve actually sound like a grandfather. But despite Steve’s chronological age, he’d had many fewer years of consciousness than Tony had. “SHIELD has been heavily infiltrated by Hydra. I told Nick Fury before Loki happened to New York that he had double agents permeating his organization. I didn’t know who they worked for, but there were obvious patterns that spoke to spies in his ranks. A lot of them. He didn’t act on it the way I thought he would. After New York, I gave him further information about his leadership. He failed to do anything. And now we know the agency is Hydra, but here’s the problem—”

“Double agents and Hydra aren’t already the problem?” Bruce asked incredulously.

“It’s a problem. But the problem is that a widespread infiltration like this doesn’t happen quickly. My guess is that Hydra has always been there, lying in wait.”

“But didn’t Fury say that the bad intel issue has only been going on for a little while?” Steve asked.

“Yes, and that’s true. So, assuming my assessment is correct—and I actually do know that it is—if you have what amounts to a giant sleeper cell of enemy agents who have been in place for a long time, presumably decades, and the bad intel and botched missions are new, what does that say?”

“That they’re no longer asleep,” Stark said immediately.

“Exactly.”

Steve’s eyes widened. “What are they planning?”

“That’s what I have to figure out.”

– – – –

Steve wandered around Tony’s lab, feeling restless and unsettled. He picked up a do-dad, the purpose for which he couldn’t say.

Tony reached out and plucked the object out of his hands. “All right, Cap, what’s got your star-spangled knickers in a knot? I’ll be your Agony Aunt this one time only.” He set the thing well away from where Steve was. “Come on, spill.”

“I don’t really understand any of what you just said.”

Tony scoffed. “You understand more than you want to admit. I think you fall back on not understanding because it’s not the words you don’t get, it’s—” Tony stopped and lifted his hands. “Sorry. None of my business.”

Steve blew out a breath, letting the tension bleed away. “You’re not wrong. I don’t understand people. Things seemed more…straightforward in my day.”

“You tell yourself that. There was nothing straightforward about World War II. Maybe it looked that way from your angle, but it wasn’t.” He shrugged. “Although, I’ll concede that the nuance these days is a little daunting. Even when you grew up in it,” he muttered the last. “So,” he said, rubbing his hands together, “pretend it’s the Dear Aunt Antonia column, and lay all your woes at my doorstep.”

“What are you talking about?”

Tony shot him an exasperated look. “Come on, Steve. You don’t need to understand the pop culture reference to get what I’m talking about.”

“Sorry.” Feeling chagrined, Steve rubbed the back of his neck. “I get tired of every step and word and video reminding me that I don’t fit.”

“You need to give yourself time. SHIELD pointing you in the direction of bad guys when you don’t even know what the United Nations are is just… Well, it’s a dick move.”

“And what is a dick move? Yes, I understand it in context, but why use that expression?”

“Oh dear. Are we having an attack of 1940’s missishness?”

“No, we are not. But why call it that? Why isn’t a dick move a good thing? It seems like it should be a good thing. I always enjoyed the dick moving.”

Tony started laughing, and the more he tried to stop, the harder he laughed. Fighting back a smile of his own, Steve feigned a glare at Tony for his mirth.

Eventually, Tony was propped against his workbench, wiping his eyes while catching his breath. “Steven Grant Rogers, you just made my year. My whole decade.”

Steve felt oddly flustered at Tony using his full name but decided not to think much about it. “I’m glad I could amuse.”

“Please, please let me replay this part of the conversation for mini-you.”

“Stop calling him that. He’s taller than me.”

“They grow up so fast.”

“Tony!”

Tony chuckled. “Sorry. I’m not trying to make light of your angst. Actually, that’s not true. I’m making light of your angst but only because you have angst. If I knew what was causing the angst, I’d buckle down and be serious. But all you’re giving me is angst, and so I have to mock you.”

Steve huffed. “Would you stop saying ‘angst.’”

“Now, I literally cannot accede to your demands. I got you to say angst. It’s like you’re a product of this century after all.”

“Just how old are you?”

Tony grinned in a way that worried Steve. “About the same age as your grandson.”

“Ugh. You are the literal worst.”

“Whoa.” Tony goggled. “Who taught you horrible but contemporary usages of the word ‘literal’?”

Steve smiled. “Jarvis.”

Tony’s mouth fell open. “Jarvis, are you corrupting Captain America?”

“At the behest of his grandson, yes, Sir.”

“Glowstick asked you to teach the Star-Spangled Super Soldier modern colloquialisms?”

“Yes, Sir, and about sex.”

Tony sputtered, and Steve just shook his head. He’d already heard this.

“He did what now?” Tony asked, sounding astonished but looking way too delighted for Steve’s comfort.

“To quote Agent DiNozzo, ‘My grandpop needs a refresher on modern social and sexual mores and how they’ve evolved over the last six decades. Also condoms. They’re a thing, and I am clear evidence that he takes them less seriously than he should.’ And so I have endeavored to fulfill Agent DiNozzo’s request within the bounds that Captain Rogers can tolerate.”

Tony finally managed to close his mouth. “That is the best. Thing. Ever! This moment makes me so happy.” He shot Steve a pleading look. “I love your grandson; can I keep him?”

“He’s not a pet, Tony.”

“Ugh. Fine.” Tony plopped on a lab stool. “All right, circling back to the Star-Spangled Angst.”

“Dammit, Tony!”

“You may proceed with filling Uncle Tony— I mean, Aunt Antonia in on what ails you.”

Steve wasn’t sure he could take this seriously, but he desperately needed to talk to someone. “I don’t understand him. Less than I understand you, to give you a frame of reference.”

“Ah. Rogers’ family bonding issues. Well, uh… Ya know, I’m not going to try to guess what aspect of Anthony DiNozzo perplexes you because there’s plenty of material. Why don’t you be more specific.”

“Don’t you think he needs to…take it easy? He just had a very traumatic experience. It’s only been three days since he came out of, uh, hibernation, and all he does is work. I’m worried.”

“Wow. You’re having a total dad moment. I don’t actually have much experience with those. Uh… Let’s try this from your side and not think about his emotional state quite yet. What is it that you want?”

“I want to get to know my grandson,” Steve blurted out. “I want to find out what kind of person he is. I want to help him. I want to know that he’s okay.” He blew out a breath. “That’s all very selfish.”

“Meh. I’ve heard worse, and I’m a terrible judge of that kind of thing. But I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. Not right now, anyway. You need to bear in mind that you and I don’t have much of a role to play in the work he’s doing, but he obviously takes his duty to his people and his country very seriously.” Tony nudged Steve with his shoulder. “I guess he takes after you.”

Steve felt his face warm a little. “Thanks.” He blew out a breath. “I just wish he’d talk to me.”

“Don’t you guys have two meals a day together?” Tony had joined them a couple of times but usually was in his lab through at least two meals a day, if not all three.

“Yes, but he doesn’t really explain anything. He just says that he’s trying to find as much information as he can in the time he has so that the people making the decisions can be as well informed as possible. Is it just me, or is that really vague?”

“It’s not you. It’s deliberately vague. Probably for both of your sake. He said he’d read us in when he could.”

Steve nodded. “I know. It’s just… Sometimes I say something, and I feel like he’s…assessing me.”

Tony’s brows shot up. “Are you worried you’re not coming out well in whatever private assessment he’s doing?”

“Yes!” That was it exactly. “What if he…”

“Doesn’t like you?”

Steve frowned. “That sounds childish.”

“It sounds human.” Tony bit his lip, looking uncertain.

“You can say whatever it is, Tony. I value your opinion.”

Tony cocked his head. “Do you?”

Steve was surprised but figured he only had himself to blame for that. “Yeah, I do. And I’m sorry for anything I said that made you think otherwise.”

Glancing away, Tony swallowed heavily but then shrugged. “No harm done. Uh, anyway, you got a couple big shocks the day Coulson showed up. You get Barnes back, and he’s this tangible connection to everything you lost, everything you were. And then there’s your bouncing baby glowworm.”

“Tony!”

“And he’s a tangible tether to now. He’s family, your legacy. And I’m sure you want to be proud of your legacy, but I kind of think you want him to be proud of you too. To look at you and see family, see connection. But you’ve got to give it time. Let him work out this thing he needs to do, and take your time getting to know one another. Don’t jump on the angst train.”

Steve shot Tony a look. “Jarvis, is there an actual angst train?”

“No, Captain, it’s a figure of speech.”

“Traitor,” Tony snarked. “How am I ever going to be amused by him being literal if he can just ask you.”

“You only have yourself to blame for my programming, Sir.”

In an unexpected moment of insight, Steve realized he was seeing Tony’s moment of connection, Tony’s legacy. Jarvis was everything to Tony, and he felt humbled to finally see the truth of it, and a bit like an idiot for not seeing it before.

Deciding to put the angst aside for now, he settled back and enjoyed Tony’s snark and Jarvis’ dry wit.

– – – –

“Agent DiNozzo,” Jarvis’ voice intruded on his thoughts.

“What’s up, J?”

“Agent Coulson has returned and is requesting a moment of your time. He has an Agent Melinda May with him. Shall I allow them access to this floor?”

“Sure. If Tony’s good with it, that’d be great, thank you.” Tony closed the classified files he was reviewing. Stark had set him up with a whole holographic display table and multiple computers, but back in the penthouse. He’d been muttering about unpredictable energy discharges too close to sensitive lab equipment. Apparently, the next most secure part of the building, outside of any science lab, was Stark’s personal apartment. Tony wasn’t sure what he’d done to earn Stark’s trust and hospitality, but he greatly appreciated it.

A moment later, Phil and a woman who had a very hard edge about her stepped off the elevator. She was obviously dangerous, and Tony had always found dangerous women to be hot as hell. “Agent May?” he asked, getting to his feet and offering his hand. They’d made enough strides over the last few days that he felt confident about shaking hands in most situations. Tony could only give Bruce a couple of hours a day to tests and control methods—mostly meditation—but three days of that had given him a little more assurance.

“Agent DiNozzo,” she acknowledged. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Thank you for the assist the other day. I didn’t realize how close I was running to the proverbial ragged edge, and you got shit done. I really appreciate it.”

She simply inclined her head.

Phil passed over a small black case. “Everything you asked for. That I could get ahold of, anyway.” The case was about the height of a deck of cards and two decks across. “Stark offered up a next-generation storage device. That’s got almost ten terabytes of data on it.”

He pursed his lips and stared at the thing like it was a venomous snake. “Ten terabytes. Joy.”

“And you were right about Fury. He was behind the hack on Homeland, and he’s not going to give up. If he can’t get you on board, he’ll try to get your team.”

“You know that’s not what’s really going on, right? He’s hoping to uncover who my team members are so he can strong-arm me into coming to SHIELD, or he’ll fuck with their cover. But what’s a little extortion here and there?”

Phil rocked back on his heels, hands shoved into his pockets. “Part of me wants to deny that that’s what’s going on, but I suspect you’re right. And while we’re being blunt, May posited something on our way here that I thought was…interesting.” Phil’s tone had quite a lot of edge to it.

“Oh?”

“She thought you asking me for that data was a test.” He took a step closer. “Was it, Tony?”

“In part.”

Phil blinked like he hadn’t expected Tony to admit it.

“I already had most of the data from SHIELD, but I’m certainly going to compare the two and make sure there aren’t any discrepancies. So, yes, that part was a test. I did need the Hydra data, though.”

“What the hell?”

“Fortunately for us, I’ve already gotten permission to fill you in.” He looked to Agent May. “Where is your loyalty, Agent May?”

She crossed her arms. “Why don’t you tell me.”

“Ooh. A game. I like games.” He moved to the couch and sprawled out. “Okay. I think you’re loyal to SHIELD, particularly the ideals of SHIELD, or what you assume to be their ideals. However, I think your loyalty to Coulson supersedes anything else. I mean, outside of crossing whatever firm ethical lines you personally have—and I think you do have firm ethical lines, which is quite refreshing—I think you’d go to war for and with him.”

She cocked her head a bit. “You’d be right.”

Phil glared half-heartedly at Tony. “I say again, what’s going on, Tony?”

“The more I dig into SHIELD, the worse the Hydra problem is. You really can’t trust anyone at SHIELD right now, Phil. I cleared Agent May with…the task force.” He wasn’t prepared to even tell Phil the whole scope of what was coming down. Fury rang a bell going after Tony’s team that couldn’t be unrung. The asshole. “But, right now, you two are the only SHIELD assets approved to know anything about what’s going on and what’s going to happen.”

Looking a little gutted, Phil sat heavily. “Barton isn’t Hydra.”

“No, I don’t think he is. He’s in the clear on that front based on my analysis, and so is Romanoff. But his loyalties are an issue. What would he do for her, Phil, because she is a problem. Not a Hydra-type problem, but still…” Tony shot him a look. “What were you thinking?”

Phil scrubbed his hands over his face. “I thought she’d turned a corner. I thought I could trust her. I’m still not sure I can’t…” He trailed off and looked to May. “May says I’m a sentimental idiot.”

“She’s a hot mess,” May said dryly.

“To put it mildly,” Tony agreed.

“But not a double agent?” Phil clarified.

“She could be a quadruple agent for all I know,” Tony shot back. “But she’s not Hydra. At least not based on anything that I can find. But, Phil, her drive is very primal. It’s all about safety and, to her, that means being on the winning team. It’s not about physical comfort. She needs to know that, at the end of the day, the team she’s on is the winning team, and that said team values her. Which is why I think she broke her promises to you about the Avengers. She saw it as two separate sides: Fury and Stark. And she thought Fury would prevail in that equation. She will always go to the side she thinks is going to win. She’ll rationalize it as something else—I saw a common phrase in her reports about ‘red in my ledger,’ and what bullshit!—but she’ll go where she feels safe. And I don’t mean any kind of traditional definition of safe. But, the point is, she can’t be trusted.”

“You don’t understand how she feels about the things she’s done,” Phil insisted.

“I doubt she feels much at all, to be honest. I profile, I don’t diagnose, but there’s some kind of serious attachment disorder. Phil.” He pinned the other man with a look. “People who have regrets about the lives they’ve taken don’t accept positions where they have to kill people on the regular. It’s completely nonsensical. She says what she needs to say to fit in so that she feels safe—so that she never feels powerless again. Her life has sucked; I’m not saying it hasn’t. Private citizen DiNozzo feels much sympathy. But I can’t afford to let pity for her circumstances affect my judgment.” He left the ‘the way you have’ unsaid.

Phil shook his head. “When she’s on assignment, when her objectives are clear, she’s a great agent.”

Tony just stared, wondering how Phil could say that with any kind of serious mien. “Phil, she’s terrible. Every psych profile she’s submitted to SHIELD about a mark reads like Internet-sourced psychological twaddle. Her intelligence analysis is wretched—”

“You can’t compare a field agent like Romanoff to—”

“To me?” Tony supplied sharply. “I’m not. I’m comparing her to junior intelligence analysts at the CIA. And the CIA analysts are better. Fury thinks her reports are great because she validates his own paranoia and opinions. You need to go back and read her mission briefs and analysis with an objective eye. Also, she’s terrible undercover.”

“That’s not true.”

“Phil, you need to wake up and smell the reality of the situation you and Fury put her in. Not one successful undercover op of hers didn’t involve a honey-pot-type situation. She hasn’t got the skills of a good undercover agent. She literally cannot blend in, and she can’t stop acting like herself long enough to convincingly pretend to be someone else. She only gets by when she can play the sex pot and lead a guy around by the dick. And do you really need me to point it out that you guys have been capitalizing on making a whore out of her?”

Phil reared back as if Tony had slapped him.

“And don’t think I’m faulting her about any of that because I’m not. I’m faulting you. Your loyalty to SHIELD and Fury gave you some selective blindness, and it’s really fucked up. Her competency is as an assassin. Not undercover work. Not intelligence analysis. And it sure the fuck isn’t psychological profiling. I’m not so naïve as to think that assassins don’t fill in a vital part of the intelligence framework, but you can’t make an assassin fit in the role of a government agent. Square peg, round hole, man.

Phil shook his head. “I wasn’t trying to…”

Tony blew out a breath. “I’m sorry I said the whore thing.”

“But you weren’t wrong,” May said coldly. “SHIELD has never cared if it does that to its assets.”

“May…”

“Don’t give me the eyes, Phil. We all chose to turn a blind eye to things at one time or another. It was obvious to me the kinds of missions Romanoff was sent on. Maybe you didn’t want to see it.”

Phil shook his head, rubbing at his temples. “I don’t know what to do.”

“About her?” Tony prompted.

Phil nodded.

“Let her stay attached to SHIELD for now. She’ll feel safest if she’s not forced to make a choice—she’ll become a problem if she feels cornered. If you wish, you can tell her that you’re going to keep watch on me until Hydra is rooted out because of your promise to Peggy. And don’t think you and I aren’t going to have a long conversation about that!

“But, if it’s important to you, at an appropriate time, you can tell her to go to ground for a while. Lie low and let the dust settle.”

“And then what?” Phil asked in frustration. “Your analysis is that we can’t have her near anything where we actually need to trust her.”

“I wish I had an answer for that. I wish anyone had an answer for what to do with people that the spy game has twisted into someone who can’t lead a normal life and can no longer function as a field operative. It may sound callous, but all I can deal with is what’s in front of me. Romanoff isn’t my priority. If you want to make her your priority, then our conversation ends here.”

Phil shook his head. “No. I’ll do my best for her, but my duty is to the safety of the world as a whole. I thought SHIELD was where I needed to be. Clearly, I was mistaken. If you’re going somewhere I can follow, then I’m in.”

Tony looked to May.

“I’m not going to work for an organization crawling with what amounts to Nazis. But I need to be sure this side is actually better. So, I’m in provisionally. Because I have some serious reservations. There are a lot of good agents at SHIELD. I don’t want to see them get burned because SHIELD has a Hydra infestation.”

“Then I need your help to make sure we can identify who absolutely is not Hydra and bring them in safely.”

“Deal.” She reached out, and they shook hands.

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Chapters 1-3 | Main Page | Chapters 7-9

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