It was hard to believe that the pale, emaciated teenager on the medical bed was the great and powerful Tony Stark. Rhodey found it difficult to even look at him, but he also couldn't seem to look away.
The IV that Dr. Muller had put in his arm kept the brainwashed genius asleep, but there were still cuffs wrapped tightly around his wrists and ankles that kept him on the bed. The blankets were pulled up to his chest, while his restrained arms were above the fabric.
Rhodey sighed again and took the pale, small hand into his own, running his thumb across the unfamiliar palm. The calluses were gone, the skin was completely smooth, he barely recognized the touch. Looking at Tony, he saw that the same was true about his face, clear of any wrinkles and blemishes it once had. His eyes were closed, he looked so peaceful… But Rhodey knew that the true torture was hidden behind those closed lids.
"Oh, Tony…" He whispered, placing the cold hand against his forehead. "You didn't deserve this… You didn't deserve any of this… Why did this have to happen?"
Tony, of course, didn't respond; Rhodey's paines eyes looked back towards the IV with disdain. He hated the idea of keeping Tony drugged up and unconscious until the others decided what to do next. He knew Muller was trying to help, but he felt that there were much better ways.
"You can't just lock away the problem when you're trying to think of a solution!" He growled to himself. "And Tony's NOT the problem! He's not the blame for any of this!"
"He isn't," A quiet voice replied.
Rhodey whipped around in his wheelchair to face the speaker, his eyes instantly narrowing at the sight of a nervous Wanda in the doorway. Her hair was a mess, eyes red rimmed from crying, her hands were wrung together, and she was shuffling from one foot to the other. Despite her obvious anxiety, Rhodey didn't feel any pity.
"What are you doing here?" He demanded, forcing himself to hold back the insults threatening to escape from his throat. He knew he had to at least try and keep the fragile peace between them until Tony was better. But, judging by Wanda's expression, she knew that what the only reason he even blessed her with a response.
The young woman took a second to gather herself, breathing in and out deeply, and softly whispered,"I… I came to see Star- Tony. I- I wanted to see how he was doing." She looked at the unconscious form, then back at Rhodey. "Can.. Can I come in?"
Rhodey was about to deny her, slam the door in her face, and order FRIDAY to lock out every Rogue Avenger that tried to come inside… But then he remembered that day, when she stood up to Steve and shamed him for his actions against Tony. She's on our side… At least a little bit.
Without saying a word, Rhodey gave her a nod, wheeling himself backwards to give her a little room. The young woman stared at him in surprise for a few seconds, probably because she hadn't been expecting his answer to be yes. She quickly grabbed the nearby chair, dragged it to the side of the bed, and sat down next to him.
Wanda's eyes roamed over Tony and started to mist over again, and she quietly said,"If that Handler guy hadn't given us hints, I would have never known it was him… He doesn't look at all like himself…"
A strange nostalgia rose up in Rhodey, and he found himself laughing a bit. "Actually, he does," The war machine replied,"Except, he looks like he did when we were at MIT together. He was only fourteen when he started going to college, and he graduated at seventeen. Crazy, huh?"
"Yeah… But not really surprising," Wanda said,"Even if he and I weren't on the best of terms… Well, ever… I have to admit he was always a genius."
Rhodey looked at her curiously as he asked,"You always hated him… I worried about his safety sometimes because of the way you treated him. Even after we showed you that it was Obadiah that sent the missiles to your country, you still never gave him a chance. Why now?"
The guilt exploded back on Wanda's face, and she began to wring her hands together again. "Because…" She forced out,"Because I realized that… That we're more similar than I thought. My parents… His parents… We both reacted the way we did because of finding out out parents had been murdered. For him, it was even worse, the person he should have been able to trust never told him, lied to him…"
She reached out, taking Tony's pale hand in her own. "I know that I went overboard with my anger, I did things I still regret," She admitted,"But he never disregarded my feelings, he never told me they weren't justified. He understood that I was mourning. I… I just wish I could have recognized his kindness sooner."
Her free hand went to cover her eyes, trying desperately to stop the tears from falling. Rhodey watched with his jaw dropped the slightest bit, the pity in his heart changing into understanding.
He placed his hand on her shoulder as he said,"The important thing is that you recognize it now. Tony will need as much help as he can if he's going to get through this. He's with us now, he's safe, even if he doesn't know it yet. And now that he's safe, we can finally help him."
Wanda sniffed a bit, nodding in agreement to his words. It took her a little bit to compose herself, and then she turned to Rhodey with a gleam in her eyes. "You're right, we should help him," She vaguely responded, and then motioned to the IV nearby. "And I don't know about you, but I don't think this counts as helping."
Rhodey's eyes widened, finally catching onto what the young woman was implying. He smiled mischievously back, and replied,"You know what, Wanda? You're absolutely right, it does not."
The young woman smiled and got to her feet. "Well then, since we're in agreement, let's do something about it."
"No! Absolutely not! We are not doing that to him!" Bruce yelled at Steve, a tinge of green rising up his veins.
For the past several hours they had been sitting around, discussing with Doctor Muller and the other Avengers about their options for how to help Tony recover. The tension between them did not help matters at all, and led to the explosion of anger they were seeing.
Steve jumped to his feet as well. "But wouldn't that be best!? The Wakanadan doctors did some experiments on Bucky while we were on the run, it helped him out a lot!" He exclaimed,"All I'm saying is that maybe we give it a try."
"Yeah, no," Scott butt in. "Tony is in no condition to have anyone experiment on him. What do you think that'll make him feel? Safe?!"
Bruce motioned at Scott and added,"He'll feel like we're just another Hydra! And Bucky doesn't count! This situation is almost completely different!"
"How?!" Steve demanded.
Bucky narrowed his eyes at his best friend, and easily replied,"Because when we were in Wakanda, I had control of myself. I knew what was going on and who you all were. Even if I wasn't completely fixed, I still remembered things. Tony has none of that, he's basically still a Hydra tool. We need to give him time."
The group went silent for a little while, and finally Natasha broke the silence. "But… But what if he never remembers?" She whispered, an unusual amount of worry showing up in her tone. "You heard what they said… They said he's a better, more perfect version of the winter soldier. What if we can't fix it?"
"Nothing is set in stone," Dr. Muller suddenly declared,"Hydra also thought that the winter soldier was perfect, but he got away… It all started because he saw Captain Rogers. Now that Tony is surrounded by familiar faces, I'm sure something good will come of it. We just need to give him some time."
Bruce nodded firmly. "Yes, exactly!" He exclaimed,"We should give Tony some time to recover, and take this chance to observe how that pans out. We have to at least try."
"And if he lashes out, then we simply help him to calm down," Thor declared,"He is bound to have his moments and they should not be seen as a bad thing, 'tis only natural when you are in such a situation."
Fury watched the back and forth quietly, not interjecting nor offering his own opinion, but it was pretty obvious which side he was on when he started smiling near the end of their argument. Once everyone went quiet again, Fury crossed his arms and asked,"Well, we're all in agreement, then?"
The group of Avengers all nodded along with a few muttered words, and Fury hummed in agreement as well. He turned to Dr. Muller and firmly said,"Time to wake him up, doctor."
"Alright, I will remove the IV," The doctor agreed,"But it may take him a while to wake up, considering how strong the sedative was. But that's not a bad thing, it's better that he wakes up slowly and easily."
Muller left the room, the door sliding shut behind him. Once he was gone, the awkward silence seemed to seep back into the room again. The heroes looked at each other but couldn't seem to find any conversation starter to cut through the tension.
After a pregnant pause, Steve hunched forward with a groan, burying his face in his hands. "This is all my fault…" He whispered, his body beginning to shake as he tried in vain to hold back tears.
The rest of the group watched, but none of them made a move to comfort him, Bucky wasn't even looking at him. It was hard to try and make someone feel better when you with why they feel guilty.
Bruce turned his back to Steve, towards Fury, and asked the director,"Will you be staying to observe his recovery too?"
Fury sighed and shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Ever since Ross was killed and SHIELD was brought back, I've had a lot more on my plate," He explained,"I'll visit or send Maria as much as possible. Believe me, I want him to recover just as much as you… He's like a son to me."
Natasha felt her heart tighten with sadness for her boss, as she knew his words were true. Fury had known Tony since he was a child, and Tony was one of the first people to be approached for membership on the Avengers. They had been connected for a long time, just like the Avengers had been too.
They were all family, and yet things had fallen apart so quickly, so assassin wondered if they would ever be able to go back to the way things were before…
This is our chance! Natasha reminded herself. He's here, and so are we! We're going to help Tony, we'll fix what those bastards did to you, and everything will be okay. Nothing in the world will stop us!
The door suddenly flew open, slamming against the wall, and jolting the heroes out of their conversations or stupors. A wide eyed, frantic looking Muller stood in the doorway. He stuttered out random noises for several seconds, and then finally managed to yell,"He's- He's gone!"
"Gone?!" Fury exclaimed,"What the fuck do you mean gone?! He was knocked out with the equivalent of an elephant tranquilizer!"
Muller made many wild gestures as he replied,"I don't know! I went in to his room and- and then he wasn't there! The IV was on the bed!"
"But you said that sedative would hold him no matter what!" Bruce said, practically dashing out the door. "We have to find him! What if he got lost?! What if someone took him!?"
The other Avengers quickly leapt to their feet and funneled out of the room, all beginning to search the compound for their missing teammate.
Bucky watched their frantic scramble with slight amusement. They were looking in the most random places, as if their brainwashed friend was a lost dog, and didn't seem to be really thinking about what could have happened thoroughly. Bucky recalled his own experiences, and then went to the elevator.
He knew that Tony had a lab in the basement of the compound specifically for himself, Bruce had sadly mentioned it many times when he came back. Apparently Friday wasn't letting anybody in except for Rhodey and Pepper, no matter what they tried.
And Rhodey was missing from the meeting… Bucky recalled, waiting until the elevator closed to ask,"Can I go to Tony's lab?"
The AI didn't respond at first, long enough that Bucky felt the need to say,"Friday, please. I just want to give him the help nobody was able to give me."
All of a sudden, the elevator began to descend. Bucky's anxiety fell away as well, and he let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Thank you…" He whispered, hoping that she was able to hear him.
The ride down seemed to take years, and the elevator doors seemed to open in a slow crawl. As soon as they finally opened wide enough, Bucky scurried out and over to the lab. The light next to the door was already green, so he let himself in and took in as much information on the spot as he could… None of it was good.
The room was a disaster. There was broken glass, broken furniture, and shards of metal everywhere, Wanda and Rhodey were practically pressed against the opposite wall, looking worriedly across the room. Bucky followed their gaze and had to stop himself from jerking back in surprise
Tony was on the other side of the room, legs curled against his chest and arms wrapped around them, his whole body was shaking. Those wide brown eyes watched all of them, and yet his eyes betrayed no emotion.
The young man had shoved himself into the corner of a room, an overturned table right next to him and one of the many sharp tools that the lab possessed was held in his shaky hands, pointing right towards the three other people in the room.
"What happened?" Bucky demanded, looking towards the other two with a worried glance.
Wanda wrung her fingers together while Rhodey firmly answered,"We took him because we knew that leaving him drugged up wasn't going to help."
The young woman continued,"He woke up, and he kind of... Freaked out. He hasn't tried to hurt us or attack us, it's only been self defense."
Bucky couldn't bring himself to be mad at them since he knew they were correct about both things; Tony acting in self defense was true and that leaving him sedated was a foolish idea.
"I understand," Bucky said, and turned to look back at the shaking young man. "I'll talk to him. Can you guys give us a few minutes alone?"
Wanda and Rhodey nodded, both smart enough to understand what Bucky was thinking instead of arguing like other Avengers normally would. He knew that they'd still be watching off of Friday's live feed, but he didn't care.
Bucky looked back at the young man, and saw that Tony was staring at him with those wide eyes. He knew that the brainwashed genius was examining him, probably wondering what Bucky was going to do.
The ex-winter soldier kicked some of the debris on the floor away, and then sat down with his legs crossed. He didn't try to slowly creep up on Tony or scoot any closer, he knew that the young man wouldn't handle that well. Instead, he started talking.
"I know how you feel," Bucky began,"Your whole world has been turned upside down, everything you thought you knew was wrong. Now you're in some place completely foreign, and you don't know what to do."
Tony had stopped shaking, and Bucky could see that his head was tilted slightly as he listened to those words. Knowing that the young man was listening very intently, he kept going.
"The same thing happened to me. After… Well, around seventy years of being the Winter Soldier for Hydra, I found out that my life was never supposed to be that… My life, my true life was ripped away from me by them, by Hydra, and by that damned Chair."
Tony's eyes widened and his whole body tensed up at Bucky's last words, and the super soldier noticed that the sharp tool was lowered and not pointed directly at him. But, he was more focused on something else.
He frowned, a feeling of sadness and anger washing over him. "Oh… They used The Chair on you too, didn't you?" He asked, his hands tightening into fists in his lap.
The young man across from him frowned as well, his eyes flashing with the first emotion Bucky had seen: Pain. He nodded the slightest bit, his arms tightening in the grip around his legs.
Bucky's heart felt like it was being crushed, he never wanted anyone to have to go through the torture he did. But Hydra had managed to destroy another innocent person again. He swore that one day he would get revenge, but Tony was more important.
"They're monsters, Tony," He whispered, forcing himself to hide the anger he wanted to let out. "That never should have happened to you, or me, or anyone else. Not just The Chair, But everything else they made you do."
Tony's looked like he was struggling not to cry, and he nodded in agreement again, this time with a little more confidence.
Bucky forced a smile onto his face, and he quietly said,"I know that a lot of things don't make sense right now, and I know recovery is going to be tough. Hell, I'm still trying to get over a lot of shit myself. But, I know that we'll be able to help each other through this."
The winter soldier reached out the slightest bit as the metal tool clattered to the ground, and he gently finished,"But I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to. It's up to you. Will you let me help you?"
For a full minute, Tony didn't do anything, he simply stared at Bucky with empty brown eyes. There were a few times where his body would relax, as if he was going to start to move, only to suddenly tense up all over again. Bucky knew that the young man was battling against himself and what his warped instincts told him.
Eventually one side seemed to win, and Tony's hands dropped to the ground. He slowly began to scoot closer to Bucky, stopping every few inches to check and see if the super soldier reacted in any way. Bucky made sure that he didn't move a muscle, even when his arm started to ache.
After what seemed like hours, they were finally only a foot away from each other. Tony slowly sat down in a position that would let him get up quickly if he had to, reached out toward Bucky's waiting hand, but then he hesitated. He reached out again, making the distance between their two hands mere centimeters, and then suddenly yanked his hand back as if he had been burned.
Bucky didn't move his hand, watching Tony press his hands against his chest. "Do you want to touch my hand?" He asked his fellow super soldier.
Tony looked at him with fear and pain shining dimly in his eyes, his hands shaking against him as seemed to tense up again, not trying to answer his question, and instead waiting for a bad reaction. It made Bucky wonder just how much his own answers to questions had been used against him…
Slowly, Bucky pulled his hand back into his own lap, not missing the flinch Tony gave at his casual movement, and said,"If you don't want to, then you don't have to."
The super soldier's eyes widened, looking into Bucky's eyes for a split second and searching for any sign of a trick. Bucky just gave him a small smile, and it seemed to calm the young man a little more.
Then, Tony slowly changed his position and moved to sit with his legs crossed like Bucky. It seemed insignificant to others, but the super soldier knew exactly what Tony was telling him.
Thank you for trusting me… Even if it's only a little bit. Bucky thought. I promise I won't betray it. This time, I won't let them get you.
After all, now we are one and the same.
