Disclaimer: I have incense. It is lovely. It is not as lovely, however, as Tony Stark, whom I do not have, because he is part of the Marvel properties... which I also do not own.

Chapter 10: Eyes

Bucky watched the pristine landscape of Latveria roll past the windows. He observed it all through a cloudy scrim of memories. His eyes registered daylight, but it was night in his mind. In the Latveria of memory, the quaint Tudor-style village was less pristine, the people gaunter, sicker, wasting away under the former ruler and his quiet devastation.

But unlike the fallen monarch of old, everyone knew Doom. Even the mighty Avengers worried about him. And they were right to. But Bucky knew what Latveria had been before, and as absolute a dictatorship as Doom held, at least the people under his thumb looked like they might enjoy some sort of life in his shadow.

It had not always been so.

He kept still, attention carefully divided between their surroundings and Hal. Together again – never the same. She sat so near to him. If he spread his hand, their fingers would brush. But the meager stretch of leather between them might as well be an abyss. She had not forgiven him, although she'd vouched for him to the others. Although she'd accepted him as a partner. A bodyguard.

Even her mind kept him at a distance. He knew that buzz at the edge of his thoughts, and if he tried hard enough, he imagined he could sense, ever so slightly what she was feeling. It could have been wishing. He'd never know. She would never tell him. Not now.

She'd jumped into enemy territory, essentially alone, because the two of them were worse than strangers.

God. She was so much like Steve. Little Steve, the shrimp who picked on bullies twice his size because it was right even if it wasn't smart. Steve always had that drive, that sense of purpose. Hal… Once upon a time, maybe, she'd been a civilian, but she'd served a greater good long before she met him. Fury saw to that. When Bucky met Hal, he met the Compendium.

And now all that was gone. Or at least, the Compendium was gone. Bucky refused to believe that Hal, the real Hal, had died screaming in that damned chair. But the Compendium's mission was over. What remained was fragmented, outdated, and essentially useless. So Hal had found a new mission. She needed one. Bucky wouldn't lie to himself. She chose her path. She fought for it. Literally. He tried to imagine what Steve might have become without purpose, without the life-changing super soldier serum. Would he have been happy? Would he have found a new and better life? A normal one?

Steve saw something in Hal, especially this Hal. As she was. If Steve was anything, it was polite, but Bucky knew him well enough to know that bringing someone into his home – for whatever reason – was a big move. It meant he trusted her, liked her. It meant he understood her. In many ways, that scared Bucky. He'd seen the kinds of trouble Steve found when he was on a mission. Accident-prone Hal seemed destined to surpass his penchant for mishaps.

Steve's greatest mission began with a machine and the equivalent of a magic potion. Hal's began in the ashes of her desecrated mind.

More picturesque buildings cropped up beside the road, drawing the car deeper into the heart of Doomstadt. Soon, the Tudor edifies blocked all but the highest mountain peaks from view, and the car slowed as the pedestrian traffic thickened. As they neared the town square, the streets turned to cobblestone, and the bouncing wheels sent Hal rocking into Bucky's shoulder. She hissed and pulled her elbow flush against her side. Bucky noted her cringing posture. As he'd feared – her left shoulder was dislocated. It could be worse. Much worse. She could easily have died in Ultron's grip if the AI had so desired, and Bucky would've been powerless to stop him. Under Ultron's sway, even the most basic drones became a problem. Bucky could handle them, but he couldn't protect Hal at the same time. Not by himself.

The car came to a stop in front of an old manor house a block or so from the public square, and as Bucky slid out of the car, he took in the scene. All he saw were threats. Cameras winked from discrete enclosures under eaves and sign posts. Doombots stood ready in specially designed alcoves in case of emergency. Even the civilians, quiet as they were, seemed too quiet. Bucky knew it was all Doom's façade of perfection, but it was painted thick, and Bucky couldn't see past it, even if he could sense the ever present threat of eyes on the back of his head, and it put him on edge. Hal slid out behind him, wriggling free of the vehicle with considerably less grace as she protected her injured arm, and Bucky looked again at the cameras covering the street.

The house was undoubtedly bugged. He would have to warn Hal without being too obvious. So much surveillance, of course, would make that difficult. Although he'd trained Hal to fight, he hadn't taught her how to be a spy, and any discrete signals he might have passed to a Red Room associate, a Hydra operative – or even Steve – would tell Hal nothing. But even as the thought crossed his mind, her eyes crept over his face. She frowned. Followed his glance. She didn't say anything, but she knew. Her shifting posture confirmed it as she squared her shoulders under the remote scrutiny, fighting to suppress her obvious pain. It wasn't a spy's reaction, and Bucky knew Doom would be watching. What would he think of this apparently inexperienced telepath and her introduction to his country? Would he assume she was too delicate? Would he ignore her in favor of the historied assassin standing in her shadow?

Bucky hoped to hell Doom would underestimate her.

Lips pressed in a thin line, Hal followed the driver as he waved them into the house. Bucky came a step behind, ready to face whatever challenges Doom might invent.

A/N: It is short. And I am taking my NaNoWriMo break a week early. The good news is that this should mean longer chapters in the long run, because I'm using at least part of this time to write ahead/build out the plot.

Wish me luck, and thanks for the support!

Replies to Anons:

Guest: Thanks for the review! Oh, I would pay to see it, too. Hope you enjoyed the latest chapter!

Guest: Thank you very much! Sorry to leave you dangling, but I hope you enjoy this little taste. Hope to see you at the end of November!