I woke up a while later, though I was unsure how long it had been since I passed out, looking around with blurred eyes, blinking slowly as I tried to figure out where it was that I was, trying to remember what had happened exactly.
"You're awake." It wasn't a question, more a statement. I looked back to the pilot's seat, thinking for a moment. Barnes was sitting there, spun around and looking at me.
"Please tell me you haven't been watching me since I fell… whatever… what's that bloody word…"
"Unconscious."
"Yeah, that's the one." I sat up properly, uncurling my legs (which hurt, clearly I'd been curled up for a while) and wiping at the dried blood streaming down my face from my nose, frowning slightly as I tried to swallow.
"No, I wasn't watching you that entire time. Just checking you were still breathing every now and again," Barnes sounded slightly amused, but mostly like he wasn't hugely concerned, "Heard you moving and turned around. These aren't exactly made of the quietest material." He demonstrated by shifting his weight slightly. I cringed slightly as the leather crackled.
"Ow," I muttered, "Too loud. Same with talking."
"You shouldn't have used your powers so much."
"What other choice did I have?" I muttered, standing up, leaning heavily on my chair. I almost fell over as it swung around with me, my head already spinning enough as it was. The additional movement almost sent me sprawling to the floor, and I only just managed to catch myself, standing still for a moment before continuing to make my way over to a bunch of containment chambers, pulling out a bottle of water, tipping some of it out onto my hand and using it to splash my face before drinking a lot of it, using what remained to continue to try and clean my face.
"You still look like shit." Barnes told me as I made my way back to my seat. I tried to throw the now empty bottle at him, but it more dropped out of my hand rather than going anywhere.
"Shit." I grumbled, once again curling up, despite how much my muscles protested, my head falling against the back of the seat as I looked at Barnes. He was trying hard to hide it, but I could see how concerned he was.
"My condition is only… not lasting long… uh… temp… or… whatever. Temporary," I assured him, "I'm not going to be a burden," Barnes didn't look too convinced, "But getting us off the grid for a while might be a good idea."
"I wonder what gives you that idea." I half smiled, feeling my eyes shut of their own accord, forcing them open a blinking a couple of times before struggling to hide a yawn.
"Any ideas where to go?" I asked through my yawn.
"I was in stasis and then living in the middle of nowhere," Barnes pointed out, "Anywhere I know of, Hydra will probably know of, too."
"Good point," I sniffed, cringing slightly at the feeling, "Park somewhere near Malibu."
"Why?"
"You're gonna hate this, but we need help and Tony is the last person anyone would expect us to turn to. Well… the last person they'd expect you to turn to. And I think I've made it perfectly clear to the world that I'll stick by you." Barnes frowned slightly at that, and I wasn't entirely certain what part of what I'd said it was he was frowning at, or if it was everything I'd said.
"I don't…" He paused, and I half smiled, shifting into a position I was less likely to fall asleep in.
"I doubt Tony would turn me away, and if you're with me you should be fine. He's had time to cool off, hopefully. With any luck he'll be more concerned with me than with you." Barnes just nodded, spinning the pilot's seat around and returning to his job of piloting the craft. Anything else was left unsaid and unanswered.
It was a long journey before we reached Tony, especially since we ditched the jet quite a way out and had to hitchhike for a distance to the nearest town before we reached a city where we could steal a car. We then proceeded to ditch that car and walk the rest of the to Tony's mansion. By the end of it, both of us felt like we needed a long shower and a good rest without anyone trying to kill us. I knocked on the door, then turned to Barnes.
"Probably best you leave me to do the talking." He just nodded, watching the door. He still wasn't keen on the thought of staying with Tony, but it was the best plan either of us could think of. We needed help, and Tony probably still cared about what would happen to me, even if he did rather want Barnes dead.
The door opened not that long after, Tony standing there in grey track pants and a black t-shirt, a bag of peanuts in his hand. He froze as soon as his eyes landed on us, a dark look crossing his face as he spotted Barnes, then door open far enough for me to see him holding his arm back. It wasn't long before the arm of his suit was donned, pointed in Barnes' direction. Barnes took half a step back, but I just calmly stepped between them, holding my hands facing palm out, a bit like I was trying to sooth a panicking animal.
"Tony, stop this. We came for help."
"Get out of the way, Tyra."
"We've been through this before, and you know I won't. Just hear me out, would you?" Tony took his eyes off Barnes, who I could feel tensed behind me, still ready to move if he needed to, but turned slightly so that if he had to, he could get between Tony and me. Not that I'd want him to if it came to it. Tony's eyes met mine, and I could see he wasn't going to lower his arm.
"Talk."
"We got found by Hydra, we need help. I don't expect to convince you, if I'm honest, but you're the first person I could think of to help us. There's nowhere else for us to go, not when we're wanted criminals and probably seen as traitors to the country or something."
"Why would you bring him here? You know what he did."
"Yeah, I do know what he did. I did similar things, killed the parents of many people. Would you let any of them kill me?" Tony frowned slightly, looking back at Barnes, still not lowering his hand, "Please, Tony. I don't expect you to be best friends, we just need help." His arm slowly lowered after a pause and he stepped back to let us enter, still glaring daggers at Barnes.
"I'll be watching him."
"I wouldn't expect anything else." I told him as we stepped past, entering the mansion. Barnes tried to stay as far from Tony as he could as he looked around the expansive area, probably silently impressed, though also most likely looking for a route of escape if it was needed.
"How long are you planning on staying?" Tony asked, shutting the door behind us and locking it, his suit's arm vanishing down to his basement, "Not that I'm trying to get rid of you or anything." He helped himself to another handful of peanuts, chucking them in his mouth like he couldn't care less, though I could see the look in his eyes, the way he kept watching Barnes, the way his muscles were still tense.
"Hopefully not long," I shrugged, "Not too sure yet."
"Maybe I could help with whatever it is you're going to be doing." He looked at me, now seeming more relaxed. I smiled at him, putting my hands in my jean pockets as I shrugged.
"Dunno if there is much you can do to help. I just need access to your toys, a few materials, and a computer."
"What's it for?"
"Making him a temporary arm," I pointed my thumb at Barnes, who looked around in surprise, "And you don't want to know about what I'm using the computer for." He watched me suspiciously.
"Tyra…" He warned.
"Trust me, it's better you don't know. If anyone comes asking questions about us and we're actually caught, then you don't want to be more involved in this than you already are."
"You have a plan, then?" Barnes asked, turning to look at me. I glanced a look at him, then shrugged, turning so I could face both the boys at the same time.
"Not exactly, but I have ideas."
"Well that clears things up," Tony said, falsely cheerful, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes, "While you keep coming up with random ideas, I'll show you to your rooms, get you towels, that kind of thing. I'll also call Pepper, see if she can get you some clean clothes. You look like you need them." He looked me over with a concerned eye, the blood stains on my shirt sticking out like a sore thumb.
"Both of us?" I asked.
"I'm not gonna have him, or you, walking around my house when still in filthy clothes. I do have standards, you know."
"You know he has a name?"
"Course I do. Doesn't mean I'm going to use it."
"You know he's also in the room?"
"It's fine, Tyra." Barnes told me, shaking his head when I looked at him, uncertain. I sighed, following Tony as he showed us to our rooms. Barnes got a room closer to the door than I did, I got moved to a seemingly completely different part of the house, something I doubted either of us failed to notice.
My room, at least, had an en suite. I assumed Barnes' room would also have one, it seemed like the kind of thing Pepper would have insisted on. If there were guest rooms, then each room would have its own bathroom. It's not like they didn't have the money for it. My room was reasonably sized, nicely styled. The bed would need to be made, not having any sheets on it yet. I could do that myself – after I'd had a shower, and some coffee. Tony left me to get slightly settled, returning not long after with a towel and facecloth.
"Pepper said she'll be back soon with clothes, thinks she can remember your size." He told me as he turned to leave the room after handing me the towel and facecloth.
"Thank you, Tony," I told him, making him pause for a moment, hand on the door, readying to close it behind him, "For everything. I know how you feel about Barnes, and I know I'm probably not exactly in your good books at the moment…" I wasn't entirely sure where this was going, shifting uncomfortably, hoping Tony would break the awkward silence. He slowly turned and faced me, a serious look on his face.
"You're a good kid, Tyrant. Don't get me wrong, you choosing Rogers and that guy over me hurt, but I'll always help you. Doesn't mean I'll be happy about it." I couldn't help but feel guilty.
"That choice wasn't an easy one, you know. It was hard on me, too." I whispered. If Tony heard, he didn't bother acknowledging it, silently closing the door behind him as he left. I took a couple of steps backwards and fell onto the bed, chucking the towel off to the side, staring up at the plain white ceiling, my thoughts a tangled mess. I felt like shit, my eyes slowly drifting shut again. I didn't notice that I was falling asleep.
A knock at the door woke me up, Pepper stepping in, shutting the door behind her as she stepped over to me.
"Are you alright?" She asked, "What are you doing here? Tony wouldn't tell me anything on the phone." I groaned as I sat up, my back objecting, then rubbed my eyes.
"We're fine, Pepper," I assured her, "Just tired. It's been a long few days."
"But you look like shit." I blinked slowly, watching her with tired eyes.
"Thanks. You know just how to make me feel better."
"Sorry…" She sat down next to me, opening the bag in her hands, pulling out the contents one by one, "I got you a couple of tank tops and a couple of t-shirts as well as a couple of pairs of jeans and some pyjamas," She chucked each item off to the side, not even bothering to mention the underwear, "A hoodie, and some new shoes."
"Why do I need new…" I looked down at my sneakers, only now noticing that they did look like they were wanting to fall to pieces at any moment, "Right, thanks." I grabbed the nearest tank top, which was dark blue with a y back, and a pair of jeans – black – along with undergarments and headed off to the bathroom, stumbling slightly, Pepper hurriedly standing to help support me.
"I'm fine, Pepper, just stood up too fast."
"Why do I feel like there's something you're hiding from us?" She asked, gently. I stopped walking and slowly turned to face her, then looked away slightly, staring off into nothing.
"There was someone there, an enhanced," I told her, "He could control fire. I've never had that much control, he was even managing to hold it up against water. And he was clearly working with Hydra, which… almost kinda funny with the name and his ability… getting off topic. If he comes after us again, then I don't know if…" I looked up to meet her eyes again, shrugging slightly, "I dunno if I can hold him off again, let alone actually beat him. His power over a single element is greater than what I have over all of them." Pepper looked at me with a slightly confused expression.
"What does that mean?"
"Honestly, I don't know. Probably just that I need to practice a lot more," I shrugged, "I shouldn't have bothered you with it. With any luck we won't run into each other again and it'll be fine," I smiled at her in what I hoped was a reassuring way, "Anyway, I really need to have a shower."
"Right! I need to talk to Tony, anyway. It's nice to have you back, Tyra."
"It's nice to be back, believe me."
"He did miss you, you know," Pepper told me, getting a confused look in response, "Tony would never admit it, but he missed you, all of you. Except Sergeant Barnes. Him, he always hated." I half smiled.
"That one, though I hate to admit it, is understandable," I muttered, "Thanks, Pepper." She smiled, then headed for the door, and I headed for my shower, frowning slightly, thinking about what had happened as I turned on the shower and stripped off. With our luck there was no chance that we weren't going to run into the fire elemental again. Since when had we been lucky? All of us so-called superheroes had gotten to where we were through a series of unfortunate events (ha ha), when had any kind of luck other than the bad variety been involved in our lives? Though when it came down to it, Nat had Bruce (kinda), Clint had Laura, Steve had what's-her-name-blonde-agent-chick, Tony had Pepper… on and off… T'Challa had Nakia, Wanda and Vision had each other (if they actually ever got together).
So, I guessed that in a way there was some good luck, them running into each other in the first place, some good things do happen. Dale had Maria, though who knew where they were. They'd seemed to cut off all ties with me, but I understood that. I'd been in Wakanda for ages, and Dale couldn't keep trying to sneak me letters. In some ways, his dropping all ties with me was a blessing. But I didn't want to think about that. For now, I had to remain on mission. That was all that mattered. I couldn't afford to worry about anything else. Find Steve and the others, though they were probably scattered until further notice, make a temporary arm for Barnes, and figure out how to defeat this other elemental. Those were my primary concerns.
I stepped into the shower as I continued to form my plan, working out the best order to do things in, using the water to spell out my plans so I could visualise them as well as plan them. My shower probably took longer than it should have because of it.
